The abrupt cancellation of Li’s trip follows China’s unexplained replacement of Foreign Minister Qin Gang in July after a prolonged absence from public view and a shake-up of the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army’s elite Rocket Force in recent months, moves that have raised questions about the Chinese leadership’s decision-making. Li, 65, was due to attend an annual gathering on defence cooperation hosted by Vietnam on its border with China on Sept. 7-8 but the meeting was postponed after Beijing told Hanoi days before the event that the minister had a “health condition,” two Vietnamese officials said. How does the Chinese government work ?
