The new prime minister of China is Li Qiang, one of the trusted men closest to the head of state and leader of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping. As expected, delegates in Beijing voted by a large majority for the only candidate during the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (APN), the Asian giant’s national legislative body. According to the official results, the elect received 2,936 votes in favor, three against, and eight abstentions. After signing the inauguration letter, Li stood up to give Xi a strong handshake.
It should be noted that he is not a stranger on the Chinese political scene. The leader joined the CPC in April 1983 and became a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in October 2022. He is also an old acquaintance of Xi, as they met during the then-term of office future president at the helm of his native Zhejiang, a relatively wealthy southeastern province now known as a technological and manufacturing powerhouse. Before the pandemic, he built a reputation in Zhejiang and Shanghai as a friend of private industry, as well as his mastery of e-commerce and other tech companies.
Shanghai has historically been a breeding ground for top national leaders, but unlike most of his predecessors, Li lacks prior experience in the position he holds. He also suffers from the seniority of leading an impoverished province, an essential requirement for cadres who want to occupy high positions in the Government.
The 63-year-old politician is considered pragmatic and business-oriented. As Shanghai party chief he was held partly responsible for the chaotic conditions that prevailed. His management of the ultra-strict coronavirus lockdown in the city of 26 million, which lasted two months, sparked public anger, triggering unusually large protests that affected the city’s manufacturing and export economy.
The fact that, despite everything, he has been promoted is interpreted by some observers as a clear sign of the factor that, above all else, when it comes to promoting yourself in the Communist Party, what prevails is loyalty to Xi Jinping.
The prime minister holds the number two position in China after the head of State and the Party and is in charge of economic planning and supervision. He also heads the Council of State, which coordinates the ministries. The newcomer replaces the previous prime minister, Li Keqiang, considered relatively moderate and about to retire after a decade in office.
Rarely has an incoming prime minister faced such a daunting portfolio, and Li’s pro-business credentials are about to be put to the test. Among his most thorny tasks will be to direct the recovery of the Chinese economy and boost market confidence. The sharp slowdown in recent years has been linked to the pandemic and the strict “covid zero” strategy, but also to even more pressing structural causes, such as the fragility of consumption, the real estate bubble, internal economic disparities or the fight for power between the political leadership and the big technology companies. He will also have to cope with weak global demand for exports, persistent US tariff hikes, a dwindling workforce and an aging Chinese population.
The world’s second largest economy advanced a modest 3% last year and, on the opening day of Parliament, Beijing set a modest economic growth target for this year 2023 of around 5%, the lowest in almost three decades.
Li will debut on the international scene next Monday, during the traditional question and answer session before the media organized by the Government, and once the parliamentary session has concluded.
On Friday, the People’s Congress unanimously confirmed Xi Jinping for a rare third term as president, further consolidating his power. At the Party Congress in October, the septuagenarian had already challenged previous age and term limits and succeeded in having a permanent leadership role enshrined in the party’s statutes. With his sole mandate, he follows in the footsteps of Mao Zedong, founder of the state and revolutionary who, however, brought chaos to the country.
The week-long annual meeting will end tomorrow. It is the scene of the biggest reshuffle of the Government in ten years, in which mainly close confidants of the ranks of the new Red Emperor ascend.
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