Hong Kong: The candidate for China's top economic post has a history of supporting business interests, so his term will be a test of whether he can reduce President Xi Jinping's interference.

A recession in the world's second-largest economy, which is dealing with the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, weak global demand for exports, US tariff hikes, a shrinking workforce and an aging population will be faced by 63-year-old Li Qiang. He is expected to be elected the premier of China on Saturday.

Xi, who has strengthened the state sector, has announced that he wants the ruling party to resume its "original mission" as China's top authority in the fields of economics, society and culture. Simultaneously, there has been increased regulation of certain industries, aggressive censorship of TV and popular culture, and the spread of a "social credit" system that fines people for crimes such as fraud and littering. In 2012, Xi ascended to the most powerful position in China.

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Now people are waiting to see if Lee can implement sensible policies during his five years in office. However, China's political system is opaque, making it challenging for outsiders to assess the country's direction.
Expectations are based on Li's performance as party chief of Shanghai, the country's largest city, and as governor of nearby, small and medium-sized business-friendly Zhejiang province. He also has strong ties with Xi, which may be more important.

In a 2013 interview with the prestigious business publication Caixin, Li was quoted as saying that officials should "hold back the hands of the government, keep restless hands away and overstretched hands."

Li praised Zhejiang's businessmen as the province's most valuable resource, particularly e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, and he highlighted his government's efforts to reduce red tape.

On the other hand, Li has also strictly enforced some state restrictions, such as laws to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He eventually fell into the move, which is considered crucial to his rise, when his local governance has been at odds with the national policies established by the president and his team.

Entrepreneurs are worried about President Xi's growing control over e-commerce and other tech firms, in addition to tough political restrictions and COVID restrictions. Companies have lost billions of dollars in stock market value due to cracks in antitrust and data protection. Also pressurizing them to pay for social programs.

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Li, a Zhejiang native, studied agricultural mechanization and advanced through the provincial party hierarchy. In 2003, he enrolled in the Executive MBA program at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which is popular among aspiring party officials.

Priscilla Lau, a former professor at the university and a former Hong Kong representative in the Chinese legislature, claimed that Lee took her course on Hong Kong's free-market economy to a cubicle in the city and missed it when they later crossed paths in Shanghai. Did. ,
It shows how hardworking he is, Lau said.

When Xi was appointed party chief in Zhejiang in the 2000s, Li and Xi began working together. After Xi was eventually transferred to Beijing, Li was promoted in Zhejiang province and appointed general secretary of the party.

Li took up his first position outside his home province three years later when he was named party chief of Jiangsu province, an economic powerhouse on China's east coast. He was appointed party boss of Shanghai in 2017, Xi's position there before the president took over China's top leadership positions.

Li continued to pursue pro-business policies in the financial center of Shanghai. Tesla, a maker of electric vehicles, announced in 2018 that it would set up its first factory outside the US. It began construction half a year later as China's first wholly foreign-owned automaker. The factory was able to resume production after a brief suspension of 20 days even during Shanghai's strict COVID lockdown last year, according to official news agency Xinhua.

Tao Lin, a vice president at Tesla, was quoted as saying that several government agencies had worked practically nonstop to help businesses get back to work.

According to Tu Le, managing director of Beijing-based advisory company Sino Auto Insights, the Shanghai government "bent over backwards" for the city.

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Not everything has gone smoothly with the more complex issues. Joerg Wuttke, head of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, said that despite Li's efforts, Beijing was opposed to an agreement between Chinese and European businesses to produce the mRNA vaccine, and the agreement was shelved.

Li seemed to have more control than most other city leaders over the smaller previous outbreaks in the financial hub before the city-wide lockdown. The government implemented brief lockdowns of housing complexes and workplaces rather than completely isolating districts.

Li adopted a moderate stance when the highly contagious omicron variant struck Shanghai until the central government intervened and enclosed the city. Last spring's brutal two-month lockdown kept 25 million people inside their homes and severely damaged the economy.

In October, when China's president defied tradition and gave himself a third five-year term as general secretary, Li was appointed No. 2 in the ruling Communist Party.

Li lacks national-level government experience, unlike the majority of his predecessors, and his reputation was damaged by the ruthless enforcement of the protracted COVID-19 lockdown in the financial hub, which was deemed excessive.

His anticipated appointment seems to suggest that the most important factor in determining political advancement is the capacity to gain the confidence of Xi, the most powerful person in China in decades.

Since Xi wants to transfer more power to party organizations because he thinks the party should have a bigger influence in Chinese society, Li, as premier, must deal with the State Council, China's Cabinet, playing a smaller role. Nevertheless, some analysts think he will be more respected and therefore more powerful than his predecessor, who was viewed as Xi's rival rather than his protégé.

Ho Pin, a seasoned journalist and political analyst in China, stated that Xi Jinping need not be concerned about Li Qiang having a separate center of power. Because of their mutual trust, Li Qiang is able to take more initiative, express his concerns, and directly provide Xi with a wealth of knowledge and advice.

Li is primarily seen by Iris Pang, the chief economist for ING in China, as a devoted enforcer of Xi's wishes rather than a moderating force. Pang claimed that Li was pro-business because it was a requirement for him to be in his prior government positions. She cited his "strong execution" as his defining quality.