China removes Li Shangfu as defense minister, who was out of public eye for 2 months

Li Shangfu in Singapore on June 1. He served as China's defense minister this year but Chinese leaders removed him on Tuesday. (Lionel Ng/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

China's leadership has formally dismissed the country's defense minister, Li Shangfu, about two months after he disappeared from the public eye, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

The decision was made after meetings of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, in Beijing.