Li Qiang’s promotion to governor of the economic powerhouse province in 2013, the year Xi became president, meant he was being groomed by Xi for bigger roles.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated his power with the resignation of Premier Li Keqiang, who served the maximum two terms. Li has been sidelined in recent years by Xi, who has beefed up the military and security services in support of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”. And now, all eyes are now on Li Qiang, who is the favorite to replace Li Keqiang as premier. Here’s what you need to know about emerging leaders.
Who is Li Qiang?
Li Qiang has been a friend of Xi since his days in the provincial government, having served as Xi’s de facto chief of staff in Zhejiang province.
Li was promoted to governor of the economic powerhouse province in 2013, the same year Xi became president, and that automatically meant he was being groomed for bigger roles. In 2015, Li accompanied Xi on a visit to the United States to meet then-President Barack Obama.
Li Qiang is business-friendly and pragmatic and played a key role in bringing Tesla to Shanghai, where it now owns several semiconductor and advanced manufacturing companies.
Li Qiang, from home or abroad, is likely to allow more freedom to do business across borders while requiring government officials to further cut red tape to serve companies.
However, Li Qiang was criticized on social media for the two-month Covid lockdown of Shanghai’s 25 million residents last year. Despite this shortcoming, Lee was promoted to the party’s second-highest-ranking official last year.
In November, Lee decided to activate plans to reopen earlier than intended, in an effort to contain the economic toll of the zero-COVID campaign and protests that had rattled the leadership. The result was a chaotic reopening in December, when China abruptly ended lockdowns, mass testing and other restrictions.