Before the start of the 20th party congress this week, few people outside China had heard of Li Qiang, let alone that he was about to become China’s second most powerful leader.
It wasn’t until Sunday, when Shanghai’s Communist Party chief followed Xi Jinping onto the stage of the Great Hall of the People, that it became clear that the 63-year-old had been anointed as the Second Standing Committee of the Politburo member He is also poised to become China’s next premier at the annual legislative session in March, when Li Keqiang will step down after two terms in office.
Shanghai has historically been a breeding ground for top national leaders, but unlike most of his predecessors who had been promoted to premier, Li has no experience as vice president. He also lacks the wide range of experience in regional administration, such as leading an impoverished province, a prerequisite for cadres aspiring to top party positions.
Li’s reputation also took a beating over his handling of Shanghai’s two-month Covid lockdown, which sparked public anger, rare protests and damaged the city’s manufacturing and export economy.
Before Sunday’s revelation, China watchers had expected another candidate, Wang Yang, a former vice premier, to ascend to the top job. But there was one problem, he is from the rival China Youth League faction, which analysts say Xi sees as a threat to his government.
Li’s appointment shows that Xi puts loyalty and trust above all else, analysts say. Although Li has experience in regional economic management, it was ultimately this factor that prompted Xi to personally choose him as his number two.
“He is someone close to Xi and has his trust,” said Professor Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a senior researcher at the Asia Center in Paris. “Xi is now surrounded by ‘yes’ men and there is no room for other rivals.”
He is someone close to Xi and has his trust. Xi is now surrounded by “yes” men and there is no room for other rivals. Professor Jean-Pierre Cabestan
Rise of the “New Zhijiang Army”
Li Qiang’s ties to the president go back nearly two decades. When Xi was top party boss in Zhejiang province, Li was his chief of staff and de facto top personal aide from 2004 to 2007, before Xi left for the top party post in Shanghai . After Xi became China’s leader, he promoted Li first to governor of Zhejiang and then to party secretary of Jiangsu province, giving him the regional governance experience and credentials he needed for higher positions. important
Li, along with Cai Qi and Li Xi, who were also promoted to the powerful Standing Committee on Sunday, are part of the so-called “Zhijiang New Army” that worked under Xi in Zhejiang province, the economic powerhouse south of Shanghai , during its period. climb to the top (Zhijiang is a poetic name for Zhejiang’s largest region.) During this period, Li accompanied Xi on many business trips, edited his speeches, and helped draft Xi’s policy direction.
Xi appointed Li as Shanghai party chief in 2017, as part of a strategic move to place his allies in key positions and bring his power base into the party’s upper ranks.
As premier, Li will be the top official tasked with reviving China’s ailing economy, which has suffered under a strict “zero-Covid” policy for nearly three years amid strained relations with the United States. Some hope that Li, a former party chief in his native Wenzhou, a private commercial center in Zhejiang, can lead China out of economic trouble.
Li Qiang leaves behind Xi Jinping to meet the media after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Photo: Tingshu Wang/Reuters
It is expected to focus on innovation and high-tech industries, according to Xi’s plan to develop these areas, as set out in the work report of his party congress. Li, who has presided over many foreign investments in Shanghai during his tenure, has been described by those who have known him as having a pro-business and pragmatic work style.
As Xi’s trusted confidant, Li is likely to have a freer path to manage the economy than his predecessor Li Keqiang, who is seen by Xi as a threat. But analysts say Xi’s former aide is unlikely to challenge him or assert himself too much.
“The prime minister’s role in relation to Xi has morphed into that of an executor of his decisions. What (Xi) needs is a strong implementer, and during Shanghai’s lockdown, Li has proven to be an advocate loyal to Xi’s zero-Covid policy,” said Chen Daoyin, a former professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
Li loyally carried out Xi’s order for “zero Covid”, even as Shanghai’s prolonged Covid lockdown sparked public outrage and exacted a heavy economic toll. Amid the two-month lockdown, Li told cadres to “unquestioningly implement the task of ‘zero Covid'” in the spirit of Xi’s instructions.
Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, said Li is well aware that he owes his career to Xi, his patron.
“Li has had no special political achievements to back him up, so he is very clear that he owes his position to Xi. So whatever Xi tells him to do, he will implement it. He would be very different from Li Keqiang… he has to follow Xi 100 percent,” Lam said.