Beijing's ruling against two former defence ministers is the latest sign of President Xi Jinping's long-running anti-corruption drive that has increasingly targeted the military. A Chinese military court on Thursday sentenced Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with two-year reprieves after finding them guilty of bribery, AP and News18 reported. Wei was convicted of accepting bribes, while Li was found guilty of both accepting and offering bribes, and both received the suspended death penalty that's commonly converted to life imprisonment under Chinese practice. News18 added that authorities said the suspended sentences would be converted to life imprisonment without parole, that both men would be stripped of political rights for life, and that their personal property would be confiscated.
A military court on Thursday delivered death sentences, suspended for two years, to Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu after finding them guilty of bribery, AP and News18 reported. The rulings were described by official reporting as examples of especially severe punishment applied in serious corruption cases.
Why the sentences matter
Under Chinese legal practice, a death sentence suspended for two years is commonly converted to life imprisonment if the convicted person doesn't commit further crimes during the reprieve period. AP and News18 both noted that pattern, and News18 added that authorities said the suspended sentences in these cases would be converted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, that both men would be stripped of political rights for life, and that their personal property would be confiscated. That latter set of penalties appears only in News18’s account.
The convictions and punishments are being read inside and outside China as part of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive that began in 2012 and has increasingly targeted the military and senior officials. AP framed the sentences as the latest phase of a campaign used to remove and discipline senior military leadership and to consolidate loyalty within the armed forces. News18 described the action as among the harshest taken against senior military figures since the anti-corruption campaign began.
Background on the ministers and the cases
Wei served as China’s defence minister from 2018 until 2023. Li succeeded Wei in March 2023 but served only until October 2023, when he disappeared from public view and was removed from office, both AP and News18 reported. Both men were expelled from the Communist Party in 2024, a formal disciplinary step that preceded their trials, the outlets said.
AP reported additional institutional implications inside China’s military command, saying the purge of senior officers has reduced the membership of the Central Military Commission so that, apart from Xi, there's now only one other member. AP also noted Li’s long career in the missile and procurement branches of the People’s Liberation Army.
News18 reported that Chinese authorities announced investigations into Wei and Li in June 2024. That timing detail doesn't appear in AP’s account.
Both outlets agree, however, on the core outcomes: convictions for bribery, suspended death sentences of two years, expulsions from the Communist Party, and the use of military courts to deliver the rulings.
The immediate legal status is straightforward in public reports. Both AP and News18 record that the men were handed suspended death sentences and expelled from the Communist Party.
Neither outlet provided a public timetable for the two-year reprieve period, a scheduled date for conversion of the sentences, or details about possible appeals. The public record, as presented in these reports, ends with the court verdicts and the formal party expulsions.
The sentences signal both a disciplinary message and an institutional reshaping. So far, the available reporting links the rulings to efforts by Xi to tighten control over the armed forces and remove officers suspected of corruption or disloyalty. The military court descriptions framed the punishments as severe measures reserved for especially serious corruption cases.
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News18 said the suspended sentences would be converted to life imprisonment without parole, with both men stripped of political rights and their personal property confiscated.
This article was created with AI assistance.
