BEIJING: Li Qiang, one of Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s most trusted allies, was confirmed as premier on Saturday, as Xi asserts his influence on the country\u2019s top leadership.
\nLi, the former Shanghai party chief who oversaw the city\u2019s gruelling two-month lockdown last spring, was named the successor of outgoing premier Li Keqiang at a meeting of the country\u2019s rubber-stamp parliament.
\nThe 63-year-old received nearly all votes from the more than 2,900 delegates at the National People\u2019s Congress a day after Xi was unanimously selected by deputies for a norm-breaking third term as president.
\nXi\u2019s motion nominating Li Qiang as premier was read out to the chamber on Saturday morning.
\nJournalists were asked to leave the chamber as deputies, mostly dressed in dark suits, marked their votes on their ballots in a tightly choreographed process.
\nDelegates later applauded as Xi ceremoniously deposited his votes in the ballot box while cheerful traditional music played from speakers.
\nAn electronic screen in the hall displayed 2,936 votes for Li, with only three delegates voting against his appointment and eight abstaining.
\nLi\u2019s ascension had previously seemed in doubt after his handling of the Shanghai lockdown, in which residents struggled to access food and medical care.
\nBut Li\u2019s record, as well as widespread protests last winter over Xi\u2019s zero-Covid policy, has been brushed aside as Xi cements his grip on Chinese politics.
\nUnlike almost all previous premiers, Li does not have experience working at the central government level.
\nLi, who started his career as an irrigation pump station worker near his hometown, rose steadily through local government ranks and was promoted to affluent Zhejiang province\u2019s top job in 2012.
\nHe was Xi\u2019s chief of staff in the early 2000s, when the Chinese leader was Zhejiang\u2019s party chief.
\nIn 2017, Li was appointed the party secretary of Shanghai \u2014 a sign of the president\u2019s high degree of trust in him.
\nNow, in his capacity as premier and head of China\u2019s cabinet, the State Council, he will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the country, as well as macroeconomic policy.
\nOutgoing premier Li Keqiang last week announced a growth target of \u201caround 5 percent\u201d for 2023, one of the lowest in decades, as the world\u2019s number two economy fights stiff headwinds.
\nLast year, the Chinese economy expanded just three percent, one of its weakest performances in decades on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and a real estate crisis.
\nChina\u2019s housing market, which along with construction accounts for more than a quarter of GDP, remains in a slump, having been dealt a hefty blow since Beijing started cracking down on excessive borrowing and rampant speculation in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING: Li Qiang, one of Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s most trusted allies, was confirmed as premier on Saturday, as Xi asserts his influence on the country\u2019s top leadership. Li, the former Shanghai party chief who oversaw the city\u2019s gruelling two-month lockdown last spring, was named the successor of outgoing premier Li Keqiang at a meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-318858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n