Will China's next premier be moderating influence on Xi?

• Published date: 09 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

The pro-business track record of the man poised to become China's top economic official will make his term a test of whether he might moderate President Xi Jinping 's tendency to intervene.

Li Qiang, 63, who is expected to be chosen China's premier on Saturday, will have to grapple with a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, which is dealing with emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, weak global demand for exports, lingering U.S. tariff hikes, a shrinking workforce and an aging population.

Xi, who has bolstered the state sector, has said that he wants the ruling party to return to its "original mission" as China's economic, social and cultural leader. That has been accompanied by tighter control over some industries, more aggressive censorship of TV and pop culture and the spread of a "social credit" system that penalizes the public for offenses ranging from fraud to littering. Xi took China's most powerful role in 2012.

Now, observers are watching whether Li can roll out pragmatic policies during his five-year term. But the process of political decision-making in China is opaque, making analyzing the country's direction a difficult matter for outsiders.

Expectations are based on Li's performance as the party chief of the country's largest city ? Shanghai ? and as the governor of neighboring Zhejiang province, a hub of small and mid-sized business. And, perhaps more importantly, his close ties with Xi.

Li was quoted as saying in a 2013 interview with respected business magazine Caixin that officials should"put the government's hands back in place, put away the restless hands, retract the overstretched hands."

Li hailed Zhejiang's businessmen as the most valuable resource in the province, pointing to e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, and he highlighted his government's cutting red tape.

In contrast, Li has also strictly enforced some state controls, including rules meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When his local rule has been out of tune with national policies set by the president and his team, he has eventually fallen into step, seen as key to his rise.

Under President Xi, entrepreneurs have been rattled not just by tighter political controls and anti-COVID curbs but more control over e-commerce and other tech companies. Anti-monopoly and data security crackdowns have wiped billions of dollars off companies' stock-market value. Beijing is also pressing them to pay for social programs and official initiatives to develop processor chips and other...