China has removed its defence minister, General Li Shangfu from office, making it the second ousting of a senior leader in three months.
This has raised questions about the stability of the leadership team around Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to State media, General Shangfu, who has been out of the public eye for the past two months, was fired from his positions as State councilor and Minister of Defense.
Additionally, China declared that Qin Gang, who was dismissed as Foreign Minister in July, had lost his status as a state councilor.
China’s top legislators, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, approved the removal of both men, State broadcaster CCTV reported, without giving any explanation.
No replacement for Li was named, leaving the country without a Defence Minister as it prepares to host Foreign Defence officials at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on October 29-31.
Li was formally removed just days before a US military delegation was scheduled to arrive in Beijing for a Chinese military regional security forum, paving the way for long-stalled high-level military dialogue between the two sides.
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