According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on July 28, informed sources reported that Li Yuchao, the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, Deputy Commander Liu Guangbin, and former Deputy Commander Zhang Zhenzhong, have been taken away for investigation by anti-corruption personnel from the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China.
The SCMP cited two informed sources as saying that the Central Military Commission’s Discipline Inspection Committee and the military audit department are investigating Commander Li Yuchao, Deputy Commander Liu Guangbin, and former Deputy Commander Zhang Zhenzhong of the Rocket Force.
The precursor to the Rocket Force was the “Second Artillery Corps”, a strategic independent military branch established by the People’s Liberation Army in 1966. After deepening national defense and military reforms in December 31, 2015, the Second Artillery was elevated to the fourth military type – the “Rocket Force”.
Li Yuchao is the third commander of the Rocket Force since its establishment, and is the highest-ranking officer involved in this investigation. At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 2022, he was promoted to a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
One of the informed sources said, “Most of the senior officers of the (Rocket Force) have good reputations before their promotion. They began to corrupt after they were transferred to work at the Beijing headquarters and had more opportunities to come into contact with defense-related businesses.”
The report pointed out that the first commander of the Rocket Force was Wei Fenghe, the former Minister of Defense. When he took office as the Minister of Defense in 2018, he was seen as Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, placing importance on the Rocket Force. This investigation began after Wei Fenghe stepped down as Minister of Defense in March of this year.
The SCMP report did not state whether the investigation involved Wei Fenghe. Currently, Chinese officials have not announced that the officers mentioned in the report are under investigation.
