BEIJING: Li Qiang, one of the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s most trusted allies, has been confirmed as premier, as Xi asserts his influence on the country’s top leadership.
Li remained Shanghai party chief who oversaw the city’s gruelling two-month lockdown in spring 2022, and now was named the successor of the outgoing premier Li Keqiang at a meeting of the Chinese parliament.
The 63-year-old received nearly all votes from more than 2,900 delegates at the National People’s Congress a day after Xi was unanimously selected by deputies for a third term as president.
President Xi’s motion nominating Li Qiang as the country’s prime minister was read out to the chamber Saturday morning. Li’s ascension had previously looked in doubt after his handling of the Shanghai lockdown, in which residents struggled to access medical care and food.
But Li’s record, as well as widespread protests 2022 winter over President Xi’s zero-Covid policy, has been brushed aside as Xi cements his grip on Chinese politics.
