On the 11th, Li Chang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, was elected Premier of the State Council, China’s second-ranked member.
According to China’s state-run Central Television (CC) TV, etc., at the 4th plenary session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this morning, Li Chang, a member of the Standing Committee, was elected Prime Minister.
The result of the vote was 2936 votes in favor, 3 votes against, and 8 abstentions out of 2947 valid votes. Of the total 2,977 delegates, 2,947 attended the meeting and 30 were reportedly absent. However, Chinese media did not announce the exact results of the vote.
It is noteworthy that there were votes against and abstentions, compared to the unanimous vote of the members of the top leadership, including President Xi, who had no opposition or abstaining votes the previous day.
Prime Minister Li is a key member of the ‘Zhijiangxinjun’ (referring to an aide who worked with Xi Jinping in Zhejiang). When President Xi was the Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province from 2002 to 2007, Li Chang formed a relationship with President Xi as the Chief of the Secretary-General and Director of the PAC. Since then, Lichang has been on the road to success, such as Zhejiang Provincial Governor, Jiangsu Province Party Secretary, and ‘Economic Capital’ Shanghai Party Secretary.
Lichang is evaluated as a business-friendly official who has passed through major economic hubs.
It is generally observed that Li Chang will stop at the level of faithfully implementing President Xi’s policies as prime minister. At one time, the Prime Minister of the State Council and the President of China established a ‘two-top system’ to lead China, but after President Xi Jinping came to power, the role of the Prime Minister weakened, and is expected to weaken further during the period of Li Chang’s power.
The National People’s Congress also elected Vice-President of the National Military Commission, Chairman of the National Supervisory Commission, Chief of the Supreme People’s Court, and Chief of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on the same day.
Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, who serve as vice-chairmen of the Party’s Central Military Commission, were elected vice-chairmen of the National Military Commission.
Liu Jinguo, who is currently serving as the secretary of the Central Secretariat and the deputy director of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, was elected as the head of the National Supervisory Commission; He was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court.
Source: Donga
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