He vanished from public view a year ago with no explanation
Two senior officials dismissed in 2023 face formal removal: Qin Gang resigned from the Central Committee while Li Shangfu was expelled from the party entirely for corruption. Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive has intensified dramatically, with 36 vice-ministerial officials investigated in the first half of 2024 alone, signaling broader institutional purges.
- Qin Gang dismissed as foreign minister July 2023 after 7 months; has not appeared publicly since
- Li Shangfu expelled from Communist Party on bribery charges in June 2024; also removed as defence minister October 2023
- Li Yuchao, former PLA Rocket Force commander, also expelled; oversaw China's nuclear and conventional missile arsenal
- 36 vice-ministerial officials investigated in first half of 2024 alone under Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign
- PLA purge has implicated 2 former defence ministers and 9 top generals
China's Communist Party removed former foreign minister Qin Gang and defence minister Li Shangfu from its Central Committee during a major party meeting, as part of President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
Beijing's Communist Party formally severed ties with two of its most senior officials on July 18, concluding a process that began quietly in 2023. Qin Gang, who served as foreign minister for seven months before vanishing from public view, submitted his resignation from the party's Central Committee. Li Shangfu, the former defence minister, faced a harsher fate: expulsion from the Communist Party itself, along with Li Yuchao, a retired commander of the PLA's Rocket Force. The action came during the party's third plenum, a gathering of the 205-member Central Committee that convenes roughly once every five years to chart the country's long-term course.
The two removals carry starkly different weight. Qin's resignation allows him to retain his party membership, a distinction that matters in China's political hierarchy. Li Shangfu and Li Yuchao, by contrast, were cast out entirely—a designation the party framed as punishment for "serious violations of discipline and law," the standard euphemism for corruption. The expulsion from the party automatically strips them from the Central Committee as well, a more definitive break than Qin's negotiated exit.
Qin's fall from grace remains shrouded in ambiguity. He was abruptly removed from the foreign ministry in July 2023, just seven months into the role, with no public explanation offered. Since then, he has not appeared in public. The circumstances of his dismissal have never been clarified, and his resignation from the Central Committee suggests a negotiated settlement rather than a forced purge. Li Shangfu's trajectory was similarly opaque at first. He was ousted as defence minister in October 2023 without stated cause, then placed under investigation for corruption. In June 2024, the party formally expelled him on bribery charges. He had already been removed from the party's highest military command body in February.
Li Yuchao, 61, oversaw the PLA's Rocket Force, the strategic command responsible for China's conventional and nuclear missile arsenal. He was replaced last July during a broader leadership shakeup that also removed the force's political commissar. His expulsion from the party signals the depth of the anti-corruption sweep now engulfing the military.
These removals are part of a much larger reckoning. President Xi Jinping has made anti-corruption a centerpiece of his leadership since taking control of the Communist Party in 2012. The campaign has intensified markedly in recent years. In just the first half of 2024, the party's top graft watchdog investigated 36 officials at the vice-ministerial level and above—a pace that suggests the purge is accelerating rather than winding down. The PLA has been particularly hard hit. Beyond the two defence ministers now formally expelled, nine top generals have been implicated in corruption investigations, reshaping the military's senior ranks and raising questions about the stability of command structures at the highest levels.
The formal removal of Qin and Li from the Central Committee closes one chapter but opens questions about what comes next. The military purge shows no signs of slowing. The party's anti-corruption machinery continues to operate at full capacity. And the broader implications for China's governance—whether these investigations reflect genuine institutional rot or serve as a tool for consolidating power—remain contested among observers both inside and outside the country.
Citas Notables
Serious violations of discipline and law— Communist Party Central Committee, describing charges against Li Shangfu and Li Yuchao
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that Qin Gang resigned from the Central Committee rather than being expelled like Li Shangfu?
Because in China's system, the method of removal signals the severity of the transgression and the political standing of the person involved. Qin gets to stay in the party; Li doesn't. That's the difference between a managed exit and a purge.
But we still don't know what Qin actually did.
Exactly. His case is deliberately opaque. He vanished from public life a year ago with no explanation. The resignation from the Central Committee is the closest thing to a formal accounting we've gotten, and it tells us almost nothing.
Is this anti-corruption campaign real, or is it political cover?
Both questions can be true at once. There may be genuine corruption in the military—the PLA is enormous and sprawling. But the campaign also serves Xi's consolidation of power. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
How many people are we talking about here?
In the first half of 2024 alone, 36 vice-ministerial officials were investigated. That's not a handful of bad actors. That's a systematic reshaping of the military and civilian bureaucracy.
What happens to these men now?
Li Shangfu and Li Yuchao are expelled from the party—they lose their positions, their pensions, their political standing. Qin's situation is murkier. He's still technically a party member, but he's been invisible for a year. In practical terms, his career is over.
Does this destabilize the military?
It could. You're removing experienced commanders from the Rocket Force, the strategic command. That creates gaps in institutional knowledge and raises questions about continuity in sensitive areas. Whether that's intentional or a side effect of the purge is unclear.