The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force and military equipment system have seen a significant number of senior officials fall from grace since 2023 due to large-scale corruption. Recent announcements from the Rocket Force reveal that the probe into “procurement corruption” dates back to 2016. In 2023, the Military Commission Equipment Development Department began collecting clues related to “procurement corruption” after October 2017. This discrepancy is believed to be linked to intense power struggles among the high-ranking officials within the Chinese Communist Party’s military.
According to the official Chinese media outlet Global Times, from August 28 to September 1, the Logistics Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force’s Procurement and Asset Management Bureau issued a total of 180 announcements on the “Military Procurement Network.” 74 evaluation experts and 116 suppliers were penalized, with these suppliers banned from bidding on military procurement projects, and the evaluation experts losing their qualifications to partake in the review of military projects.
The announcements indicate that the projects associated with these experts are from a long time ago, with one individual losing their evaluation qualification for a project in 2016 due to a critical error in assessment. This signifies that the Rocket Force is retracing procurement cases dating back nine years to identify violations and impose penalties on individuals and enterprises involved.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force was officially established on December 31, 2015. The succession of Rocket Force commanders includes General Wei Feng (December 2015–August 2017), General Zhou Yaning (August 2017–January 2022), General Li Yuchao (January 2022–July 2023), and General Wang Houbin (since July 2023).
On July 26, 2023, the Chinese Military Commission Equipment Development Department issued a notice, soliciting clues regarding experts’ violations and misconduct in equipment procurement bidding evaluations since October 2017. The investigation scope includes issues such as moral misconduct, forming cliques, using expertise for personal gain, leaking confidential information, and lack of supervision.
The 180 penalty announcements recently released by the Rocket Force are the results of the investigation, focusing only on evaluation experts and suppliers. However, commentator Wang Gong previously stated that according to the unwritten rules of the Chinese officialdom, procurement bidding involves multiple corrupt practices interconnected. Apart from the operational procurement handlers, evaluation experts’ opinions play a crucial role in bidding, with the leaders who sign off bearing a greater responsibility. Therefore, this investigation, rather than targeting corrupt experts, might actually be a probe into the former relevant leadership.
Since July 2023, a batch of former and current senior leaders of the Equipment Development Department and the Rocket Force have been investigated and removed from their positions, including the first three Rocket Force commanders Wei Feng, Zhou Yaning, and Li Yuchao, as well as the former Rocket Force political commissar Xu Zhongbo. Several major generals and brigadier generals have also been implicated. Former Minister of National Defense and former head of the Equipment Development Department Li Shangfu has also been investigated.
It’s worth noting that the current Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, took over as the Minister of the General Armament Department in October 2012. In November 2015, Zhang Youxia became the first Minister of the newly established Central Military Commission Equipment Development Department, stepping down in September 2017.
Independent commentator Cai Shunkun stated that all these investigations are undoubtedly purposeful. The nine-year probe into the Rocket Force system coincides with the period of military reform, implicating Wei Feng, who has essentially become a dead tiger. Due to the intricate connections between the Rocket Force and the Equipment Department, a probe into the Rocket Force naturally leads to the Equipment Department. Therefore, the ultimate target of the investigation appears to be Zhang Youxia.
Cai believes that various internal reports within the Chinese Communist Party suggest that Zhang Youxia is at odds with Xi Jinping. Whether Xi Jinping will pressure Zhang Youxia to step down before or during the Fourth Plenary Session is a critical point of observation.
Su Ziyun, director of the National Defense Strategy and Resources Research Institute at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense Security, mentioned that although the Chinese Communist Party claims to be combating corruption, there are political cleansing elements involved.
He believes that investigations like these have two possible reasons: one might be the opposition factions’ pushback against Xi Jinping because when Xi revamped the Second Artillery Corps into the Rocket Force in 2015, he promoted many officials. Now, with the investigation reaching the time of military reform, it naturally points towards the defects in Xi Jinping’s military reform initiatives. Secondly, because many individuals implicated are related to Xi, it could also be a “black hand” tactic from another faction, prompting Xi to carry out targeted cleansing actions that might affect his leadership credibility.
Researcher Shen Mingshi at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense Security told that, based on the currently available information, the authorities seem reluctant to extend the investigation beyond the corruption preceding the missile force restructuring. Furthermore, the designation of a clear timeframe is entirely different from the past anti-corruption campaigns with no limits on time frames. Investigating back to 2016 might be targeting Zhang Youxia, but at the moment, only Li Shangfu has been investigated.
Shen mentioned that under the massive purge within the Chinese military, certain senior officials might choose to lie low, while others might resort to radical retaliatory actions. Regardless of the scenario, because of the lack of trust in them, it will significantly impact the military capability.