China has handed suspended death sentences to two former defence ministers following convictions for corruption, in a major escalation of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-graft campaign within the military.
The sentences were issued on Thursday by a military court, which found both former officials guilty of bribery. The court ruled that the death penalties will be suspended for two years and later commuted to life imprisonment without parole.
The convicted former defence ministers are Wei Fenghe, who served from 2018 to 2023, and Li Shangfu, who held the post briefly in 2023.
Both men were placed under investigation in 2023 by China’s military anti-corruption agency as part of a wider crackdown targeting senior officers within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The latest ruling is part of a broader purge of China’s military establishment under President Xi Jinping, who has intensified efforts to eliminate corruption and consolidate control over the armed forces.
Reports indicate that more than 100 senior military figures may have been removed or investigated since 2022, with dozens of generals and lieutenant generals already formally purged or placed under scrutiny.
Analysts say the sweeping crackdown has significantly reshaped the PLA’s top leadership structure, affecting a large portion of senior command positions and raising questions about internal stability and operational readiness.
State-linked commentary has described the anti-corruption campaign as necessary to strengthen discipline within the military and support China’s broader military modernisation goals.
However, observers note that the scale of the purge is unprecedented in recent decades and reflects the depth of Xi’s ongoing effort to centralise authority within the armed forces.
