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More China trips, less diplomacy: what does Li Qiang’s schedule reveal about the changing role of premier?
- Side-by-side comparison finds Li Qiang and predecessor Li Keqiang had different priorities early in their terms, determined by economy and geopolitics
- Li Qiang appears to have less authority on some matters, including those related to foreign affairs, says analyst
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Vanessa Caiin Shanghai
China’s political elite and lawmakers will gather in March for the country’s annual legislative sessions which will set budgets and lay down Beijing’s plans for the country’s economy, diplomacy, trade and military. In the first part of the series, Vanessa Cai looks at the role of premier and how it has changed under Li Qiang.
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When Li Qiang was named China’s premier in March last year, the world’s second-biggest economy was just reopening its borders after three years of draconian Covid-19 lockdowns.
Bespectacled and diminutive, Li, the former Communist Party chief of Shanghai, sought to put the city’s chaotic Covid lockdowns of 2022 behind him as he took on the new role of top enforcer of President Xi Jinping’s economic vision.
Li, 64, spent his first year as premier amid repeated stern warnings from Beijing about the unprecedentedly complex environment of the time. In May, Xi urged officials to prepare for the “worst and most extreme situations” so they could deal with “high winds and waves and even dangerous storms”.
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Premier Li Qiang plays up China’s economic prospects at World Economic Forum’s ‘Summer Davos’
Premier Li Qiang plays up China’s economic prospects at World Economic Forum’s ‘Summer Davos’
Compared with his predecessor, Li Keqiang, Premier Li Qiang has put more focus on domestic issues during his first year in office, scaling back on foreign affairs, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post.
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The Post compared their itineraries for domestic meetings, time spent on inspection trips inside China and overseas trips and the number of diplomatic events held.
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