China elects Xi Jinping’s ally as premier

Li Qiang, one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s most trusted allies, has been elected as premier by the parliament.

Li, the former Communist Party leader of the country’s biggest city of Shanghai, will now lead the government, replacing retiring Li Keqiang.

The 63-year-old man received almost every vote from more than 2,900 delegates at the National People’s Congress.

A close ally of President Xi, he is seen as a pragmatist and will be tasked with reviving China’s struggling economy.

New ministerial appointments are expected to be announced on Sunday.

According to BBC, no reporters were allowed in the room while ballots were cast during a meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament.

Li, who is now the second-highest-ranking official in China’s political system, received a total of 2,936 votes to emerge as premier, with just three delegates voting against his appointment and eight abstaining.

He then took an oath, swearing to be loyal to China’s constitution and to “work hard to build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious and great modern socialist country.”

Li was President Xi’s Chief of Staff in the early 2000s, when Xi was party chief of Zhejiang province.

Li was made party secretary of Shanghai in 2017.

During the pandemic, he oversaw Shanghai’s strict lockdown, which led to some residents struggling to access food and medical care.

His appointment comes after Xi secured a historic third term as president on Friday.

The President has solidified his rule as China reopens from his bruising zero-Covid policy that has fuelled anti-government protests.

The country is also facing a falling birth rate that threatens its economic growth engine.

The so-called Two Sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) this week is closely watched as it provides a glimpse into China’s direction in the coming years.

Since Mao Zedong, leaders in China had been limited to two terms in office.

When Xi had this restriction changed in 2018, it transformed him into a figure with a reach not seen since Chairman Mao.

The Star