Over the summer, Beijing limited Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to a single handshake with sanctioned Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu at a top military forum. Now, Li’s drop from public view could help reboot senior-level military talks between the superpowers.
The Chinese defense chief is reportedly under probe after not being seen in public since Aug. 29 and missing engagements, fueling speculation he’s set to be replaced. His removal would eliminate one major roadblock to military talks after Beijing made their resumption conditional on the US lifting its sanctions on Li.