China has removed three delegates linked to the defense industry, including a nuclear weapons specialist, from its national legislature, the National People’s Congress.
The decision was taken on Wednesday during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC in Beijing, held against the backdrop of an ongoing high-level investigation into two senior Chinese generals.
Those removed include Liu Cangli, former head of the China Academy of Engineering Physics; Luo Qi, chief engineer at the China National Nuclear Corporation; and Zhou Xinmin, former chairman of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
No official explanation was provided for their removal.
The action was approved during the committee’s 20th session.
NPC Chairman Zhao Leji presided over the meeting, which reviewed and adopted a report by the Credentials Committee assessing the qualifications of lawmakers.
The development follows an announcement by China’s Ministry of Defense on January 24 that Gen. Zhang Youxia and Gen. Liu Zhenli were being investigated for “suspected serious disciplinary and legal violations.”
US media reports have alleged that Zhang is accused of leaking nuclear secrets to Washington.
Neither Zhang nor Liu was mentioned during the NPC session, despite both being among the seven members of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Party, which is chaired by President Xi Jinping.
With the latest investigations, only two active members remain on the CMC — Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin, who heads the commission’s disciplinary inspection body.
In recent months, several senior officers, including Gen. He Weidong, Gen. Li Shangfu, and Adm. Miao Hua, have been investigated and removed from the commission.
Zhang Youxia is a member of the Communist Party’s Political Bureau and serves as vice chairman of the CMC.
Liu Zhenli is also a CMC member and serves as chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department.
Both men are among approximately 30 senior Chinese military officials who have been investigated or dismissed since 2023, when President Xi began his unprecedented third term in office.
