By Li Deyan, Vision Times
Liu Guozhi, a former commander of China’s nuclear take a look at base and a earlier head of the Central Military Commission’s Science and Technology Commission, has reportedly been removed from the official listing of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The transfer comes amid a broader shake-up inside China’s military-industrial and scientific institution, the place a number of distinguished specialists have lately disappeared from official rosters and a number of senior officers have been positioned “under investigation.”
The removing of Liu’s profile from the CAS web site was found on March 18. Searches for his identify within the academy’s official database now return “no data,” and his biography web page is now not accessible.
At the time of publishing, Chinese authorities issued no official clarification or announcement relating to the change.
A surprising removing
The removing of Liu Guozhi follows related actions involving different distinguished figures in China’s protection analysis sector. In latest months, the CAS and the Chinese Academy of Engineering have eliminated the names and biographies of a number of academicians linked to army know-how applications.
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Among them was Yang Wei, broadly referred to as the chief designer of China’s J-20 stealth fighter, whose profile was quietly taken down from the CAS web site earlier.
When reporters searched the CAS web site for Liu Guozhi’s identify, solely an unrelated article from 2020 appeared, mentioning him in reference to a gathering evaluating the academy’s analysis initiatives. No different official data referencing him remained out there on the location.
Liu’s background
Public data present that Liu Guozhi, born in November 1960 in Liaoning Province, constructed his profession inside China’s army analysis and weapons improvement establishments.
He served as director of the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology and later grew to become commander of the PLA’s twenty first Test and Training Base, broadly referred to as China’s nuclear testing facility situated within the Lop Nur area of Xinjiang. In 2009, Liu was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The following 12 months he was appointed director of the nuclear testing base at Lop Nur.
Liu later rose via the ranks of China’s army institution. In December 2010, he grew to become a deputy minister of the PLA’s General Armaments Department, and in 2013 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant normal. In September 2014, Liu succeeded General Li Andong as head of the division’s Science and Technology Commission.
Following China’s sweeping army reforms in January 2016, Liu grew to become the primary director of the newly established Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission, overseeing analysis and innovation throughout the Chinese army. He remained in that place till 2021, when he stepped down after reaching the tenure restrict for deputy theater-level officers.
Liu is broadly thought to be one of the main pioneers of high-power microwave know-how in China. His analysis targeted on pulsed energy methods and microwave weapons know-how, and he led a number of main tasks associated to high-power microwave sources and methods.
Links to Xi Jinping and Zhang Youxia
Liu’s profession additionally positioned him in direct contact with China’s prime political and army management. In March 2016, Liu attended a gathering of army delegates throughout China’s annual political periods, the place Chinese chief Xi Jinping was current. State media on the time printed pictures displaying Xi shaking fingers with Liu, which observers interpreted as an indication of the scientist’s prominence inside China’s protection institution.
Liu additionally had long-standing ties with Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and one of China’s strongest army figures.
Analysts word that Liu’s promotion in 2014 to guide the General Armaments Department’s Science and Technology Commission occurred whereas Zhang Youxia oversaw the division’s broader weapons improvement system.
According to commentary posted by analyst “Wen Bei” on the social media platform X, Liu and Zhang labored inside overlapping management constructions for greater than a decade. Their collaboration may be divided into three phases:
- First, from 2012 to 2015, when Zhang served as head of the General Armaments Department and Liu was one of his deputies chargeable for technical applications.
- Second, after the 2016 army reforms, when Zhang grew to become head of the newly fashioned Equipment Development Department and Liu led the Science and Technology Commission. Although the 2 organizations have been separate, Liu’s analysis applications supported the weapons methods overseen by Zhang.
- Third, from 2017 onward, when Zhang grew to become vice chairman of the Central Military Commission whereas Liu continued main the fee’s know-how physique.
During this era, analysts say Liu successfully served because the military-industrial system’s prime know-how official inside Zhang’s broader community.
Sweeping purges proceed
Observers say Liu’s removing from the academy listing displays broader turmoil inside China’s protection analysis neighborhood. An analyst utilizing the X account “Finding心归何处” wrote that the quantity of senior scientists eliminated lately suggests deeper issues throughout a number of sectors of China’s army know-how system. “This represents systemic decay across the military-industrial and research system,” the commentator wrote.
The publish listed quite a few specialists from key sectors, together with nuclear energy, missile know-how, fighter plane, radar methods, engines, and protection tools, who’ve lately been investigated or faraway from official positions. The people cited embrace figures concerned in nuclear propulsion, missile steering methods, superior plane design, early-warning radar, nuclear weapons engineering, and plane engine improvement.
According to analysts, the focus of circumstances inside such vital fields raises questions on governance and oversight inside China’s protection trade.
While China’s army modernization applications have acquired substantial funding and assets lately, critics argue that the rising quantity of investigations might reveal deeper structural challenges throughout the system.
Editorial word: This article is predicated on publicly circulating reviews and commentary from impartial analysts. The claims described haven’t been independently verified by Vision Times, and related authorities haven’t publicly confirmed the allegations.