China has removed nine military officials from its national parliament, including individuals from the secretive Rocket Force and the Equipment Development Department, with no clear explanation provided, Bloomberg reports.
Five of the ousted individuals were associated with the secretive Rocket Force, including former commander Li Yuchao, who was previously under a corruption investigation. Two others were from the Equipment Development Department, which has been investigating corruption related to hardware purchases since 2017. Additionally, a former Air Force commander and one naval official were also removed.
The reasons for their removal were not specified and the People’s Liberation Army did not disclose any information about disciplinary probes. Over recent years, China has conducted multiple investigations into high-ranking military figures, as part of President Xi Jinping’s efforts to remove corruption in the military.
The parliament meeting also appointed former navy chief Dong Jun as China’s new defense minister, potentially facilitating a resumption of high-level military exchanges between China and the United States.
