Then there were two: disappearance of second Chinese minister sparks speculation

Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu told a China-Africa security forum in Beijing last month that the world was entering a new period of “instability”.

Just over two weeks later, officials and experts outside China are raising questions about the durability of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s cabinet, after Li became the second high-profile minister to disappear with little or no explanation from public view in less than two months.