Li Qiang, 63, who is expected to be named China’s premier next Saturday, is facing a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, declining global export demand, protracted tariff hikes in USA. , a shrinking workforce and an aging population.

Xi Jinping, who has strengthened the public sector, said he wants the ruling party to return to its “original mission” as China’s economic, social and cultural leader. This was accompanied by a tightening of control over certain industries, increased censorship of television and pop culture, and the spread of a system of “social points” that punish citizens for various kinds of offenses. Xi assumed China’s most influential role in 2012.

Now observers are watching to see if Lee can develop a realistic policy during his five-year term. But China’s political decision-making process is opaque, making it difficult for outsiders to analyze the country’s course.

The expectations are based on Li’s performance as party chief of the country’s largest city, Shanghai, and as governor of neighboring Zhejiang province, a center for small and medium-sized businesses. And – perhaps most importantly – in his close ties with Xi.

Li was quoted in a 2013 interview with the prestigious Caixin business magazine that officials should “retract the government’s long arm, take out those who are concerned, and catch those who overdo it.”

Li hailed his province’s businessmen as her most valuable resource, pointing to e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma and stressing that his government is cutting red tape.

But on the other hand, Li also introduced some stringent government controls, including regulations aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. When his local government did not align with the national policy set by the president and his team, he ended up following the center line, which is considered the key to progress.

Under President Xi, businessmen have suffered not only from the tightening of political controls and restrictions regarding COVID-19, but also from the increased focus on e-commerce and other areas of technology. Tough antitrust and data security measures have wiped billions of dollars off the market value of companies. Beijing is also pressuring them to pay for social programs and initiatives to develop chips and other technologies.

Born in Zhejiang, Li studied agricultural automation and rose through the party ladder in his province. In 2003, he began his MBA at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a point of contact for ambitious party officials.

Priscilla Lau, a former university professor and former Hong Kong representative in the Chinese parliament, said Li attended her classes on Hong Kong’s market economy and said she remembered her lesson when they met in Shanghai more than a decade ago.

“He seems very diligent,” Lau said.

Li’s relationship with Xi began in the 2000s, when the latter was appointed head of the party in Zhejiang. Following Xi’s permanent move to Beijing and his appointment as party general secretary in 2013, Li was appointed provincial governor, taking up a second position in the provincial government.

Three years later, Li was appointed party chief of Jiangsu Province, the economic hub on China’s east coast, the first time he had held the post outside his home province. In 2017, he was appointed party head of Shanghai. Xi held this position before he assumed a central leadership position in China.

In the commercial heart of Shanghai, Li continued to pursue pro-business policies. In 2018, electric car maker Tesla announced that it would build its first factory outside the US. Six months later, it became the first wholly foreign automaker in China. The official Xinhua news agency reported that even during Shanghai’s COVID-19 lockdown last year, the plant was able to resume production after being suspended for about 20 days.

Tesla Vice President Tao Lin said many government departments are working nearly around the clock to help businesses reopen.

“The Shanghai government has done everything possible,” said Tu Le, chief executive of Beijing-based consulting firm Sino Auto Insights.

On more complex issues, not everything went smoothly.

Although Li helped broker a deal between Chinese and European mRNA vaccine companies, Beijing was opposed and the deal was shelved, said Yurk Wutke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce. in China.

Prior to the citywide lockdown, Lee appeared to have had more ability to deal with earlier small coronavirus outbreaks in the financial center than most city leaders. Instead of isolating neighborhoods, the government has imposed limited lockdowns on homes and workplaces.

When the highly contagious Omicron variant hit Shanghai, Li took a low-key approach until the central government intervened, sealing off the city. A brutal two-month lockdown last spring forced 25 million people into their homes, severely disrupting the economy.

Li became number two in the ruling Communist Party in October when China’s president broke past norms and appointed himself general secretary for a third five-year term.

Unlike most of his predecessors, Lee has no experience in government at the national level and his reputation has been damaged by his ruthless enforcement of a long-standing financial center lockdown that has been criticized as excessive.

His pending appointment appears to indicate that the ability to win over the confidence of Xi, China’s most powerful figure in decades, is key to political recovery.

As prime minister, Li will face a diminishing role for China’s State Council, China’s cabinet, as Xi seeks to transfer leadership to party bodies, believing the party should play a more important role in Chinese society. However, some commentators believe that he will be given more credibility and therefore more influence than his predecessor, who was seen as Xi’s rival rather than his protégé.

“Xi Jinping doesn’t have to worry about Li Chang becoming a separate center of power,” said Ho Ping, a seasoned journalist and Chinese political commentator. “The trust between them also allows Li Chan to work more actively and share his concerns, directly providing Xi with information and suggestions.”

Iris Pang, ING’s chief China economist, sees Li as more of a staunch follower of Xi’s will than a deterrent.

According to Pang, Li was a business proponent because his previous positions in government required it.

Its key feature, he says, is its “powerful efficiency.”

Source: Associated Press.