Former Chinese defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu have been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on corruption charges, as reported by the state media outlet Xinhua. Both were expelled from the Communist Party in 2024 for serious violations of discipline, a term commonly associated with corruption in China. The military court issued the sentences separately. Wei served as Defense Minister from 2018 to 2023, while Li, who succeeded him, had a brief tenure before his removal. In the Chinese legal system, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is typically converted to life imprisonment if the individual commits no further offenses during that time. Li, previously a leading aerospace engineer and head of the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force, was personally appointed by President Xi Jinping to the defense role.