ALBAWABA China has named Li Shangfu a general under US sanctions as its new defence minister, creating an additional hurdle for military dialogue as the two countries fret that geopolitical tensions could boil over into conflict.
China names Li Qiang, a close confidant of top leader Xi Jinping, as the country’s next premier nominally in charge of the world’s second-largest economy. https://t.co/PXppdiuFMp
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 11, 2023
Shangfu's appointment was confirmed after the rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, voted overwhelmingly to approve his nomination by Premier Li Qiang for the new cabinet, on Sunday.
Li Shangfu was born in 1958 in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan.
China named Li Qiang, a close confidant of top leader Xi Jinping, as the country's next premier nominally in charge of the world's second-largest economy now facing some of its worst prospects in years. https://t.co/oiKVrH02YN
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 12, 2023
He is the serviceman of the second generation - his father Li Shangfu participated in the civil war in China, in the war against Japan and rose through the ranks to the position of the deputy commander of railway troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China.
China named Li Shangfu, a US-sanctioned general, as its new defense minister on Sunday.#China | #US | #defensehttps://t.co/eCsB24nWpn
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) March 12, 2023
Li Shangfu served at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center for 31 years in total. In 2003, he was appointed to the position of the chief of the Center.
In 2018, former President Donald Trump's administration sanctioned Li and the Chinese Equipment Development Administration - for which he was responsible at the time - for purchasing Russian weapons, including a Su-35 fighter jet and an S-400 surface-to-air missile system.
