China to expel prominent rocket scientist from top body as corruption probe keeps sights on defence-aerospace sector
He became a CPPCC member in March. His last known appearance was in June, when as dean he led an official through an exhibit about aerospace development at the state-run rocket academy. Only days before, he received officials from Hunan province. Wang has since been replaced by an acting dean.
China strips 3 aerospace-defence executives of political titles amid crackdown
Wang had become the dean and deputy party secretary of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology by February 2020, replacing Hao Zhaoping who became dean in 2018.
Beijing has launched a wide-ranging purge of officials involved in the missile force and space development. In China, the space programme is closely linked to the military.
The crewed programme draws astronauts from the military’s astronaut corps under the PLA Strategic Support Force. The China Manned Space Agency is under the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China’s top military command.
10:14
‘No one is safe’: China purges record number of ‘tiger’ officials in 2023
The CMC issued a notice in July asking the public to report irregularities in how equipment tenders had been assessed since October 2017. The notice did not mention Li, but he started as head of the department only a month before.