A Chinese military court has sentenced former defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with a two-year reprieve after convicting them of bribery, in a major ruling linked to President Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign within the armed forces.
The judgment, delivered on Thursday, May 7, 2026, and reported by Chinese state media, marks one of the most high-profile outcomes yet in the military-wide purge targeting senior officials accused of graft.
Wei Fenghe, 72, who served as defense minister from 2018 to 2023, and Li Shangfu, 68, who briefly held the position in 2023 before being removed from office, were both found guilty of accepting bribes during their service. Li was also convicted of offering bribes, according to official reports.
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Under Chinese law, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life imprisonment without parole if no further offenses are committed during the two-year suspension period.
Both former ministers were placed under investigation in 2023 by military anti-corruption authorities as part of a widening crackdown on corruption within the People’s Liberation Army.
Their convictions form part of a broader purge that has affected senior military ranks across China. Data cited by the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicates that dozens of generals and lieutenant generals have been removed or investigated since 2022, significantly reshaping the PLA’s top command structure.
Details of the trial proceedings were not made public, consistent with China’s practice of limited transparency in military judicial cases.