SCO Meeting: Chinese Defense Minister General Li Shangfu to visit India for SCO meeting

China's Defense Minister General Li Shangfu is going to visit India. He will participate in the Defense Ministers' meeting among the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Goa on April 27-28. Let us inform that this will be the first visit of the Chinese Defense Minister to India after the 2020 skirmishes in the Galvan Valley.

General Li Shangfu was made Defense Minister in Beijing only last month. Previously he was the successor to the previous Defense Minister, Wei Fenghe.

Li has been banned by the US. After he became the Defense Minister, it was being speculated that due to this tension could be seen in the relations between America and China. 

Who is General Li Shangfu? 

Li Shangfu, 65, has worked at the Zichang Satellite Launch Center. Earlier, he graduated from National University of Defense Technology. After this, he was made the first soldier of the Strategic Support Force Branch.

According to information, the Strategic Support Force branch was established in 2015. Its purpose was to focus in the fields of space, political and electronic warfare, cyber technology, as well as the development of China.

What is Shangfu's dispute with America?

Shangfu is believed to have played a key role in procuring Su-35 fighter planes and S-400 missile systems from Russian arms dealer Rosoboronexport. He was the Director of the Equipment Development Department in the Military Commission during this period. After this, the US State Department had banned his department and Russian institutions. Under this, now the Defense Minister cannot be a part of transactions with America.