Recently, former spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, Wu Qian, has been appointed as the defense attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, with a promotion in rank from Colonel to Major General. Over the past two years, several high-ranking military officials, including two Ministers of National Defense, Wei Feng and Li Shangfu, have been caught up in corruption investigations in China.
Wu Qian, who had avoided questions from reporters regarding these cases in the past, was proactive in disclosing information about the case involving former military commission member Miao Hua, sparking speculation about the details.
According to the official WeChat account of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, during a reception held on Thursday (July 24), the Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, Liao Liqiang, introduced the new defense attaché Wu Qian as a Major General.
Born in Beijing in 1973, Wu Qian graduated from a military institute for international relations and studied at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He had served as the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense starting from June 2015, and was later promoted to the director of the Ministry’s Press Office in 2017. Wu Qian held his final press conference as spokesperson on March 27, 2025.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense website indicates that Wu Qian was replaced as spokesperson in May 2025 by Zhang Xiaogang and Jiang Bin, who took office in May. Since May 2008, the Ministry of National Defense’s Press Office has had a total of nine spokespersons, Wu Qian being one of them and serving for nearly a decade.
Known for his strong rhetoric, Wu Qian has been seen as a representative of Xi Jinping’s assertive diplomacy in the military. However, amid a wave of purges within the Chinese military leadership, many officials have disappeared without explanation, raising suspicions. Wu Qian has evaded questions from foreign journalists on multiple occasions regarding these sensitive issues.
During a routine press conference on August 31, 2023, Wu Qian emphasized a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption in response to inquiries about the reorganization of the rocket forces and the whereabouts of former Defense Minister Wei Feng and his involvement in corruption investigations.
The fate of former Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who had vanished from public view, was also a topic of scrutiny. Despite inquiries from the international press during a press conference on September 28, 2023, Wu Qian claimed ignorance about Li Shangfu’s potential involvement in corruption investigations and his status as Defense Minister.
It was not until October 24, 2023, that the Chinese authorities officially announced the dismissal of Li Shangfu from his positions as State Councilor and Minister of National Defense, without disclosing further information about the reasons behind his removal. When questioned by foreign media two days later about Li Shangfu’s dismissal possibly being linked to corruption allegations, Wu Qian maintained silence.
However, Wu Qian made the unprecedented move of publicly announcing the investigation involving Xi Jinping’s close confidant within the military, Miao Hua, during a press conference on November 28, 2024. This action raised suspicions of ulterior motives behind the disclosure.
Former official of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Youqun, speculated that the announcement regarding Miao Hua was peculiar as it was not authorized by Xinhua News Agency or the disciplinary agencies, but rather revealed directly by the Ministry of National Defense’s spokesperson. This unconventional revelation raised questions about potential power struggles within the leadership.
Moreover, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Military Commission, He Weidong, has reportedly vanished since after the “Two Sessions” in March, with rumors of his arrest circulating. When asked about the report of He Weidong’s investigation at a press conference on March 27, Wu Qian simply stated, “I have no information on this matter and am not aware of the situation.”