The world’s second-largest economy currently has some of its worst prospects in years, and China has picked Li Qiang, a close confidant of President Xi Jinping, as the nation’s next premier.
At the National People’s Congress, China’s ceremonial parliament, which met in Beijing on Saturday morning, Li was nominated by Xi and unanimously elected to the role. He takes over for departing premier Li Keqiang.
Nearly all 2,900 delegates who cast ballots for the 63-year-old candidate. The official endorsement of Li’s position came a day after Xi, 69, won an unprecedented third five-year term as president, establishing him as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong and paving the way for him to potentially rule for life.
The draconian “zero-COVID” lockdown Li imposed in Shanghai last spring as the party leader of the country’s financial center is what makes him most famous. By doing this, he demonstrated his allegiance to Xi in the face of citizens’ demonstrations and complaints about their lack of access to food, healthcare, and other essential services.
When Xi was governor of Li’s native Zhejiang, a relatively affluent southeasterly province now regarded as a manufacturing and technology powerhouse, Li got to know the future president.
Li will be responsible for revitalizing China’s lagging economy while it recovers from the pandemic in his capacity as premier. Together with sluggish export demand globally, persistent US tariff increases, a declining labor force, and an aging population, he will also need to deal with them.
China’s economy expanded by only 3% last year, and Beijing set a modest growth target of approximately 5% for 2023, its lowest aim in almost three decades, on the first day of parliament.
According to Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics, Li’s key priority this year would be exceeding that goal without causing significant inflation or debt accumulation.
“In the name of COVID containment, the leadership has already tolerated two years of unusually slow economic development. They won’t tolerate another now that containment is gone, Beddor said.
Now, Li will make his eagerly anticipated foreign debut on Monday during the premier’s customary question-and-answer session with the media following the conclusion of the parliamentary session.
In the midst of China’s largest power transition in a decade, Xi is appointing a number of loyalists to important positions, including Li.
