China’s new defense minister was previously sanctioned by US for buying Russian military equipment
Chinese General Li Shangfu, an aerospace engineer and People’s Liberation Army veteran, was named China’s new defense minister on Sunday.
Lee was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2018 when he was director of the Equipment Development Division, which oversees the country’s military technology.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said that Lee was involved in the purchase Su-35 fighter jets and material for S-400 surface-to-air missiles from an approved Russian company.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was Elected for a third five-year term China’s rubber-stamp legislature this week called on the country on Wednesday to strengthen its military to meet “world-class standards” and “systematically upgrade the country’s overall strength to cope with strategic risks.” .
Chinese military spending rose 7.2% to $230 billion this year.
Four Republican chairmen of House committees issued a joint statement Friday cited the military buildup by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as one of the most serious threats to US national security.
“It is clear from this threat assessment that the tactics used by the CCP to achieve its goals have not entirely worked in its favor, leaving our country at a tipping point. CCP should not be underestimated, but America can still prevail in peer-to-peer competition with CCP if our government acts swiftly and in a unified manner,” the congressmen wrote.
His warning came a day after China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that his country is Headline for “Conflict and Confrontation”. With America.
“If the United States does not hit the brakes — but continues to accelerate down the wrong path — no guard can stop the derailment and there will surely be conflict and conflict and who will bear the disastrous consequences?” Qin said at his first press conference on Tuesday.
“Such a contest is a reckless gamble, in which the basic interests of two peoples and even the future of humanity are at stake.”
Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie and Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report as well as Reuters.
