China removes 3 lawmakers with defence-sector ties

Three Chinese lawmakers with ties to the defence sector have been removed from their positions, state media said in the wake of an investigation of the nation's top general, just as Beijing tries to modernise its military.



The announcement on Wednesday evening by the Xinhua news agency did not give a reason for the dismissals or say that the lawmakers, who are from ‌the defence, aerospace and nuclear industries, were under investigation.



In President Xi Jinping's years-long corruption purge, the defence ministry said on January 24 it was investigating General Zhang Youxia - second only to Xi in China's military leadership - over suspected "serious violations of discipline and law".



The probe of Zhang, seen as a top Xi ally, meant the U.S. lost a respected, well-known contact within China's military as successive U.S. administrations have worked to build senior-level ties to avoid mishaps between the world's two most powerful militaries.



The sacked lawmakers are Zhou Xinmin, the former head of state-owned conglomerate Aviation Industry Corp of China, which produces most of China's military aircraft and drones, longtime nuclear-weapons researcher Liu Cangli and Luo Qi, chief engineer of state-owned nuclear-power giant China National Nuclear Corp.