The Chinese authorities fired Le Yucheng, Deputy Foreign Minister and Chief Foreign Ministry Expert on Russia, due to the fact that he could not find out about the invasion of Ukraine in advance. This is reported by the Financial Times.
The layoff took place in June. Chinese officials believed that Le Yucheng would be the next prime minister, but he now holds the post of deputy head of the National Radio and Television Administration. “Lay was demoted two levels. He was found guilty of failing intelligence about the Russian invasion, ”the source told the FT.
In a conversation with the FT, five senior Chinese officials stressed that Moscow did not indeed warn Beijing about the impending invasion. However, one of them claims that on February 4, Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping that Russia "does not rule out taking any possible measures." The FT source says that the Chinese authorities regarded this phrase as a hint at the start of a possible limited military intervention, rather than a full-scale war.