China’s recent spate of high-profile military dismissals underscores the country’s continued problems with graft despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s decadelong campaign against it.
Xi on Monday attended a meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which is responsible for rooting out corruption, and acknowledged that more work needs to be done.
“The situation remains grave and complex,” he said.
Xi’s anti-graft crusade, which began shortly after he came to power in 2012, has taken down such prominent figures as former security chief Zhou Yongkang, former Central Military Commission vice chairmen Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, and Ling Jihua, once a close aide to Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao.
But while the campaign has solidified Xi’s power base and strengthened loyalty toward him within the party and the military, corruption and abuse of power remain a problem. Chinese authorities dealt with 1.28 million reports of suspected discipline violations in the first nine months of 2023, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, up 17% from a year earlier.
A particularly sprawling case that has recently come into the spotlight relates to equipment procurement by the Rocket Force — the People’s Liberation Army force that oversees China’s nuclear and conventional missile arsenal.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Dec. 29 announced the removal of nine senior military officials, including former Rocket Force commander Li Yuchao, as lawmakers. Hong Kong newspaper coverage said they were suspected of involvement in the Rocket Force scandal.
The ousted officials are said to include Zhou Yaning, another former Rocket Force commander; Zhang Zhenzhong, a former deputy commander of the force; and former Air Force commander Ding Laihang. All nine reportedly once held senior positions in the Rocket Force or the Central Military Commission’s Equipment Development Department, which is also responsible for procurement.
Two days earlier, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference decided to revoke the memberships of three defense-industry executives, including the chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. They may have been entangled in the Rocket Force scandal, according to a Hong Kong media report.
News broke in late July that China replaced two leaders of the Rocket Force at the same time in an unusual move. Li Shangfu, who was ousted as defense minister in October, is also widely believed to have been involved in fraud in his previous role as head of the Equipment Development Department.
Some observers say the Rocket Force provides fertile ground for corruption because its costly gear leads to a larger budget. If data on parts is falsified or quality control suffers, equipment may not perform as well or as safely as needed.
U.S. intelligence assessments have raised doubts about the Rocket Force’s combat readiness, with missiles filled with water instead of fuel and silo lids malfunctioning, Bloomberg reported Saturday.
China’s problem with corruption extends beyond the military.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Saturday that Xu Wenrong, a former deputy manager of China National Petroleum Corp., had been expelled from the Communist Party for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
In October, authorities ordered the arrest of former Bank of China Chairman Liu Liange on suspicion of bribery and illegal lending.
At Monday’s meeting, Xi stressed the need to eliminate hidden risks in areas where power is concentrated and that are capital-intensive, citing finance, energy, infrastructure and state-owned enterprises as examples. (Nikkei Asia)
