General Liu Zhenli, the head of the military body responsible for China's combat operations and planning, has emerged as the top contender to replace the country's defence minister, who has not been seen in public for more than six weeks, according to five people familiar with the matter.
The appointment of Liu to replace Defence Minister Li Shangfu - which one of the people said was likely to happen before Beijing holds an international security forum later this month - could boost military engagement with the United States amid regional tensions, three military analysts told Reuters.
China's defence ministry and State Council information office did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters was unable to reach Liu himself for comment.Reuters reported last month Xi is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and chair of the CMC, China's top defence decision-making body, on which Liu already sits.
"If Xi Jinping is indeed intent on re-engaging in top-level military engagement with the U.S., this could well present an opportunity for the Pentagon to finally reconnect with the high command," said James Char, a scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.China's Minister of National Defence has a largely diplomatic role with no direct command authority.
U.S. defence officials have long wanted to reestablish routine communications with counterparts directly involved in command decisions. The removal of two senior ministers in such quick succession "highlights the severe limitation of Xi's one-man rule," said Willy Lam, senior fellow at U.S. think tank Jamestown Foundation.
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