Corruption Scandal Rocks China’s Rocket Force: High-Ranking Under Fire – What’s Really Happening?

Shinahwa/ Yonhap News

The Chinese military is currently facing a period of turmoil. During the National People’s Congress (NPC), they conducted a major purge of high-ranking officers, implicating many military leaders in corruption and stripping them of their positions.

 The Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), recently published an editorial indicating that the focus of the year ahead will be combating misconduct and hinting at potential challenges.

Dismissal of high-ranking officers
List of specific high-ranking officers and their positions

At the end of last year, nine high-ranking People’s Liberation Army officers were dismissed from the NPC due to corruption. According to Bloomberg and other U.S. media, on January 5, many leaders from the Rocket Force and state-owned military enterprises also fell from grace. According to the Hong Kong-based Sing Tao Daily, among those dismissed are seven major generals, with over 30 officers of colonel rank or higher.

On December 29, the NPC announced the dismissal of nine people, including Zhang Zhenzhong, representative of the Joint Staff of the Central Military Commission (CMC); Zhang Yulin and Rao Wenmin, representatives of the Equipment Development Department; Ju Xinjun, representative of the Navy; Ding Laihang, representative of the Air Force; and Lu Hong, Li Yuchao, Li Chuangguang, and Zhou Yaning, representatives of the Rocket Force.

The dismissal includes many individuals directly or indirectly associated with the Rocket Force. Not only Zhang Zhenzhong, a former deputy commander, but also Li Yuchao, Zhou Yaning, and Li Chuangguang have all held high-ranking positions in the Rocket Force. Zhang Yulin, Rao Wenmin, and Ju Xinjun have worked in the Equipment Development Department, where they are responsible for equipment procurement. Rumors say that Ding Laihang is under investigation for construction-related corruption at Beijing’s Xijiao Airport. The Washington Post interpreted the dismissal decision as not being unrelated to the Rocket Force corruption scandal.

Broader purge across military branches

Additionally, Major General Ju Qiansheng, commander of the Strategic Support Force and involved in military equipment procurement, along with Lieutenant General Feng Danyu, deputy commander of the Navy, and Lieutenant General Wang Dazhong, commander of the Northern Theater Navy, are also known to have fallen from grace. This suggests that a purge targeting the military, including the Rocket Force, a key element of the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army, is spreading across all fronts.

During the National People’s Congress closing ceremony at the People’s Hall in Beijing, China, on March 13 last year, delegates applauded while Chinese President Xi Jinping was speaking. ⓒ AP/Newsis

The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top policy advisory body, also announced on the 27th that it had revoked the membership of Wu Yansheng, chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), Liu Shiquan, chairman of the China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO), and Wang Changqing, deputy director of the 3rd Research Institute (responsible for missile research and development) under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).

These three individuals are key figures in China’s massive state-owned defense companies. CASC and CASIC are central companies in charge of China’s missile and rocket development. The Ming Pao newspaper in Hong Kong reported, “There is a high possibility that they were involved in the Rocket Force corruption, and rumors are circulating that they were associated with former Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu.”

Since last summer, the Chinese military has been in turmoil, with key figures such as former Minister Li Shangfu and Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao falling one after another. The Rocket Force, identified as the ‘epicenter’ of the purge, is one of China’s five major military units, along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Strategic Support Force. It was established on December 31, 2015, with the full support of President Xi Jinping as a nuclear force unit.

The trigger for the investigation into the Rocket Force

The corruption within the Rocket Force was first exposed in a 225-page China Rocket Force report published by the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) under the U.S. Air Force College in October 2022. The report contains military secrets such as the organizational structure of the Rocket Force, the identities of commanders and senior officials, the locations and coordinates of various units, and the types of missiles deployed. Yao Cheng, a former naval lieutenant colonel, suggested that the leakage of military secrets originated from the upper echelons of the Rocket Force, saying, “This kind of information cannot be extracted from junior officers.” This was the trigger for the investigation into the Rocket Force.

The Rocket Force corruption case turned into a typhoon when former deputy commander Wu Guohua died on July 4 last year. Although state-run Chinese media reported that Wu died from a cerebral hemorrhage, a storm of controversy was sparked when his superior posted on social media that Wu had hanged himself. The investigation into the Equipment Development Department, which oversees the procurement of military equipment, began the next day, on July 26, focusing on illegal purchases of military equipment and violations of discipline since October 2017.

Details about the sudden disappearance of former Minister Li Shangfu

Former Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu inspects the guard of honor during his visit to Singapore on June 1 last year. ⓒ AP/Newsis

On the 28th, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the CMC’s Discipline Inspection Committee was investigating Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao, Deputy Commander Liu Guangbin, and Zhang Zhenzhong, Deputy Chief of Staff of the CMC’s Joint Staff Department. Li Yuchao and Xu Zhongbo, the former political commissar of the Rocket Force, whom President Xi personally awarded the rank of major general, fell from grace side by side on the 31st.

Amid this, former Minister Li Shangfu suddenly disappeared at the end of August. He last appeared publicly at the Central Africa Peace and Security Forum held on August 29.

Li, who became the State Councilor and Minister of National Defense in March last year, got the boot in October from his roles as State Councilor, Minister of National Defense, and member of the National Military Commission. This makes him the shortest-serving Minister of National Defense on record. They didn’t say why they fired him, but there were whispers about Li being mixed up in some corruption with military supplies for the Rocket Force. Before he took over as Minister of National Defense last March, he was the boss of the Equipment Development Department of the CMC since March 2017.

Analysis of the implications of the Rocket Force’s vulnerability to corruption

On December 27, the CPPCC revoked the membership of Wu Yansheng, Liu Shiquan, and Wang Changqing. On the 29th, the NPC appointed Navy Commander Dong Jun as Minister of National Defense and revoked the representative qualifications of Zhang Zhenzhong, Zhang Yulin, Rao Wenmin, Ju Xinjun, Ding Laihang, Lu Hong, Li Yuchao, Li Chuangguang, and Zhou Yaning. Joel Wuthnow, a senior researcher at the China Military Studies Center at the U.S. National Defense University, pointed out, “The dismissal of key personnel in China’s Rocket Force once again shows that President Xi has failed to eradicate corruption in the People’s Liberation Army.”

Moreover, the Rocket Force, established to “possess and enhance nuclear retaliation capabilities,” was considered a symbol of the PLA’s modernization project and a major military force for securing deterrence against the U.S. The fact that it revealed its vulnerability to corruption just eight years after its establishment is a fatal blow to the Chinese military. Chen Daoyin, a political commentator and former professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, stressed to Reuters, “If generals are busy filling their own pockets, how can they have the will to fight? This scandal will weaken President Xi’s confidence.”

From 2013 to 2017, the Chinese authorities arrested over 100 military generals on corruption charges. This is more than the number of military commanders who have died on the battlefield since the founding of China in 1949. Ming Pao diagnosed this as ‘avalanche-style corruption,’ a term used to describe a situation where internal decay leads to organizational collapse.

Lack of transparency in PLA operations

The persistence of corruption within the Chinese military can be attributed to the fact that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is not the nation’s armed forces but rather the military wing of the Communist Party. The authority over the PLA lies with the Central Military Commission Chairman, not the Chinese President. While the nation’s military primarily focuses on defending the country from external threats, the Party’s military exists to safeguard the regime, making political loyalty a key criterion for personnel. This structural setup makes it prone to corruption and entanglement.

At the home of Xu Caihou, who fell from grace after serving as the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission due to corruption allegations, over 1 ton of cash and precious metals were discovered.

Furthermore, the opaqueness of the PLA’s operation compared to Western military organizations is another contributing factor. Without any third-party oversight from entities like the legislature or media, China keeps its defense budget a secret. Last year’s figures suggest it’s about 1.5537 trillion yuan or roughly 285 billion U.S. dollars. This secrecy leaves everyone wondering where and how they’re spending these funds. This lack of transparency opens up the possibility of inflating the costs of purchasing weapons and supplies during PLA operations, diverting excess funds for other purposes.

Bloomberg reported that while political purges might have driven the regime’s early dismissals, the recent widespread removal of officers, including individuals like Li Jian and rocket force generals, signifies a different scenario. They further analyzed that given these officers were appointed after Xi Jinping rose to power and are well-qualified, it strongly suggests the possibility of systemic corruption within the military.

By. Kyu Han Kim