Li Qiang, likely to become the next prime minister, is speaking at a major annual financial conference in Shanghai in 2020.
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Li Qiang, the former leader of the Communist Party of Shanghai, took office on Saturday as China’s second-highest post, China’s premier, and urged a close ally of President Xi Jinping to slow down the economy, which has been hit hard by three years of COVID-19 suppression. I was put in charge of the revival.
Widely perceived as pragmatic and business-friendly, the 63-year-old Mr. Li said that China’s uneven economic growth was a challenge in the face of global headwinds and low trust between consumers and the private sector. We face the daunting task of boosting recovery.
Tensions with the West have risen over a number of issues, including the US move to block access to key Chinese technologies, and many global companies have sought to hedge their exposure to China due to political risks and turmoil in the COVID-era. Mr. Li will take office as the company diversifies its supply chain.
The career bureaucrat will replace Li Keqiang, who will serve two five-year terms in office as President Xi Jinping tightens his grip on power and pushes the world’s second-largest economy toward a more nationalist direction. becomes.
Li Qiang is the first prime minister since the founding of the People’s Republic to never serve in a central government, and may face a steep learning curve in his first months in office, analysts said.
Still, Li’s close ties to Xi Jinping mean that Li served as Xi Jinping’s chief of staff from 2004 to 2007, the latter being the party secretary of Zhejiang province, giving him the power to get things done. said Leader Watcher.
Trey McArver, co-founder of consulting firm Trivium China, said:
loyalist slate
Xi, 69, has installed a list of loyal supporters for key posts in the biggest government reshuffle in a decade, after a generation of more reform-minded senior officials retired and was unanimously elected president. further consolidate power. 3rd semester on Friday.
Li received 2,936 votes, three against and eight abstentions, according to a tally projected on a screen inside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing on Saturday.
He will make his high-profile debut on the international stage during the prime minister’s traditional media question-and-answer session after parliamentary sessions conclude on Monday.
Li was on track to become prime minister in October when he was appointed second on the Politburo Standing Committee at the Communist Party Congress, which is held twice every decade.
A number of other Xi-approved officials, including deputy prime ministers, central bank governors and other ministers and heads of departments, are expected to be confirmed on Sunday.
uneven recovery
China’s economy grew just 3% last year, and at the opening ceremony of Congress, Beijing set a modest 2023 growth target of around 5%.
Lee’s biggest challenge this year will be meeting that goal without causing severe inflation or piling up debt, said Christopher Beddow, deputy director of China research at Gavekal Dragonomics. rice field.
China has not hinted at plans to take stimulus measures to boost growth, but potential setbacks such as a collapse in exports and persistent weakness in the property sector could force Li’s hand. said Beddoe.
“Leaders have already accepted two years of very weak economic growth in the name of COVID containment. Now that containment is gone, they will not accept another containment,” he said. .
China’s post-pandemic recovery has been uneven, February inflation was unexpectedly soft, and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc said on Thursday that rebuilding consumer confidence will take time. warned.
Some of Beijing’s most successful private companies, such as Alibaba, have been hit hard by sudden crackdowns and regulatory hurdles in recent years, and Lee said he will work hard to restore confidence in the private sector. There must be.
Global companies are also vigilant. China’s American Chamber of Commerce said earlier this month, for the first time in 25 years, that a majority of respondents said China was no longer considered a “top three investment priority”. .
China is trying to show a business-friendly face.
On Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported that an official from China’s National Planning Administration met with the vice president of US chip giant Qualcomm, telling him it would provide a good business environment for multinationals.
