Is Chinese President Xi Jinping Cleaning House After Facing Criticism From Communist Party Elders?

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who vanished from public view two weeks ago, is reportedly under investigation for corruption by Chinese authorities, reported FT.

This development comes in the wake of a similar disappearance of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in July, who was subsequently removed from his post and replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi.

These events coincide with the commencement of President Xi Jinping's third term in office, marked by a series of unexpected personnel changes.

Apart from Foreign Minister Qin Gang, two other high-ranking officials of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force were also dismissed.

US officials believe that Li has been under investigation for corruption and relieved of his responsibilities as Defence Minister. Li had assumed his role on the Central Military Commission in October of the previous year and officially took office as Defence Minister in March.

His last known public appearance was during a speech delivered at the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in Beijing on 29 August.

Additionally, Vietnamese officials reported that Li abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting last week, citing a purported 'health condition.'

Notably, during the period leading up to Foreign Minister Qin's removal from office, the Chinese foreign ministry had attributed his unexplained absence from official events to health-related concerns.

These unexplained absences of high-ranking officials from Xi's cabinet can be attributed to the rebuke given by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) elders to the Chinese President Xi.

Veteran CCP leaders and elders held their annual discussions at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, Hebei Province. While details of such meetings are never made public, some information about it has started to emerge.

According to a Nikkei Asia report, this year's Beidaihe conclave had a notably different atmosphere, compared to the previous ten meetings held since Xi became the general secretary of the party in 2012.

Sources quoted in the report stated that during this year's gathering, a group of retired party elders criticised the top leader in unprecedented ways.

Currently, China faces significant challenges, including a declining economy not seen since the inception of "reform and opening-up" in the late 1970s, turmoil in the real estate sector exemplified by the struggles of major developer Evergrande Group, and an alarmingly high youth unemployment rates.

Chinese authorities have ceased releasing figures on youth unemployment this summer.

Moreover, the military is currently in turmoil following the removal of two top Rocket Force generals, a development made public in July.

The recent turmoil within the military has caused concern among the party elders who were in power during China's economic rise.

In preparation for Beidaihe, the party elders reportedly held a meeting of their own to consolidate their opinions before presenting them to the current leaders.

The main message conveyed was that if political, economic, and social turmoil continues without effective countermeasures, the party's rule could be threatened due to the loss of public support.

The elders emphasised the need to avoid further turmoil.