As China’s premier and No. 2 position, Li Qiang, a close ally of President Xi Jinping, assumed office on Saturday.
He is now in charge of reviving an economy that has been battered by COVID-19 curbs for three years.
The 63-year-old Li, who is widely seen as pragmatic and business-friendly, confronts the challenging challenge of shoring up. China’s uneven recovery in the face of global headwinds and low consumer and private sector confidence.
Li takes office as tensions with the West increase over a number of issues, including U.S. efforts to deny China access to critical technologies.
And as many multinational corporations diversify their supply chains to reduce their exposure to China. As a result of political risks and the COVID era’s disruptions.
The career bureaucrat succeeds Li Keqiang, who is stepping down after serving two terms of five years each. During those terms, his influence was seen to gradually wane as Xi tightened his hold on power.
And guided the second-largest economy in the world in a more statist direction.
Since the People’s Republic’s founding, Li Qiang is the first premier who has never held a position in the central government.
Which could mean a steep learning curve during his first several months in office.
After being unanimously elected president, a largely ceremonial position, for an unprecedented third term on Friday, Xi, 69, is installing a slate of loyalists in key positions in the biggest government reshuffle.
In a decade as a generation of more reform-minded officials retires and he further consolidates power.
Li garnered 2,936 votes on Saturday, with three votes against and eight abstentions. According to results displayed on a screen inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
After the parliamentary session closes on Monday, he will make his eagerly anticipated debut on the global stage during the premier’s traditional media Q&A session.
After Li was elected to the second position on the Politburo Standing Committee. During the twice-decade Communist Party Congress, he was put on the path to becoming the premier in October.
On Sunday, a large number of additional Xi-approved officials, including vice premiers. A governor of the central bank, and other ministers and department heads, are scheduled to be confirmed.
China’s economy expanded by only 3% last year, and Beijing announced its lowest growth target. In almost three decades for 2023 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 reaching that goal without causing significant inflation or debt accumulation.
Although China has not indicated that it intends to use stimulus to kick-start development.
Beddor noted that potential setbacks like a collapse in exports or sustained weakness in the real estate industry could force Li’s hand.
In the guise of COVID containment, the leadership has already consented to two years of unusually slow economic development.
They won’t tolerate another now that containment is gone “said he. Li will have to put in a lot of effort to restore faith in the private sector after some of Beijing’s most prosperous private companies.
Such as Alibaba (9988.HK), were pummelling by arbitrary crackdowns and regulatory obstacles in recent years.
The global economy is also cautious. A majority of responding companies indicated that China is no longer viewed as a “top three investment priority” for the first time in the survey’s 25-year history.
According to the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which released its findings early this month. China is making an effort to appear business-friendly.
The Xinhua news agency reported on Friday that a vice president from US semiconductor giant Qualcomm Inc.
Met with a representative of China’s state planning agency and signalled that it will create a favourable business climate for global corporations.
