General Li, who is under US sanctions, has been appointed as the Minister of Defense of the People’s Republic of China.

The National People’s Congress of China (NPC, the highest legislative body of the PRC) approved 65-year-old General Li Shangfu, who is under US sanctions due to military cooperation with Russia, as Minister of Defense.

⠀

The vote took place on Sunday during the fifth plenary meeting of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

⠀

In 2018, the US Treasury imposed sanctions against the Department of Training and Supply of the Central Military Council of China and Li Shangfu, who headed it at the time, due to military cooperation with Russia.

⠀

This fact, according to observers, can make contacts between the US and China in the military sphere rather awkward.