Palace intrigue in China
High-profile disappearances and purges among China's political and military elite have got tongues wagging.
China’s leadership is already grappling with a full-blown property crisis, record youth unemployment, and a sputtering post-pandemic recovery. It’s in the throes of heightened tensions with the United States, an incumbent superpower determined to throttle its rival’s tech ambitions.
The last thing Beijing needs is even a skerrick of instability in its leadership ranks. Yet there has been just enough of a hint of palace intrigue to set tongues wagging.
Li Shangfu, China’s defence minister, disappeared from public view late last month and is presumed to be under investigation for corruption. It comes hot on the heels of the purge of senior generals in charge of the People’s Liberation Army’s nuclear arsenal and, perhaps most salaciously, Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Handpicked and fast-tracked for promotion by Xi Jinping's, Qin lasted just seven months in the role.
It might not appear the most auspicious of starts to Xi’s unprecedented third term as president, meant to herald his unchallenged grip as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong (trademark pending). And given Xi’s long-term emphasis on governance and party discipline, it’s not the best look.
