CNN
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China on Sunday named a US-sanctioned general as its new defense minister.
The country’s legislature unanimously confirmed the nomination of General Li Shangfu, a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army’s modernization campaign, during a session on Sunday.
Experts said the appointment would be closely watched by Washington given Li’s background, even though the post is seen as largely diplomatic and ceremonial.
In 2018, the administration of former US President Donald Trump sanctioned Li and China’s Equipment Development Department – for which he was then responsible – for purchasing Russian weapons, including a Su-35 fighter jet and an S -400 ground-to-air missile system.
His appointment was one of a series confirmed by China’s National People’s Congress during its Sunday session. Other high profile appointments include four new deputy prime ministers – Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong.
Following their appointment by the new Premier Li Qiangall four will be deputy prime ministers in the Council of State, the body responsible for reviving Chinese economy after three years of strict zero-Covid restrictions.
Li Shangfu’s appointment as defense minister comes at a time of increasingly strained relations between Beijing and Washington.
Defense experts told Reuters his appointment likely reflected a reward for his work modernizing China’s military.
In 2016, Li was appointed deputy commander of the new PLA Strategic Support Force, an elite corps tasked with accelerating the development of China’s space and cyber warfare capabilities. He was later appointed head of the equipment development department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China’s defense governing body, headed by the country’s leader Xi Jinping, Reuters reported.
Defense experts said Li’s history as a technocrat and aerospace engineer who worked in China’s satellite program would play a key role in his new role.
“The operational and technological background of China’s next defense minister is particularly relevant given that the PLA aims to become a world-class military by 2049,” James Char of the S. Rajaratnam School of International told Reuters. Singapore Studies.
“I think he was elevated to this position because he delivered for Xi Jinping in key areas of modernization,” Singapore-based security analyst Alexander Neill of the Pacific Forum think tank told Reuters. from Hawaii.
“He’s someone who will have to defend himself in front of an international audience.”