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China’s Premier Says Term Ending as Questions Over Xi Future Remain
10:09 AM IST, 11 Mar 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he would step down from his post after this year, pointing to a coming reshuffle amid questions over the future of President Xi Jinping.
Li made the disclosure at his annual news conference Friday in response to a question about the accomplishments of his decade as China’s No. 2 official. In China, the premier leads the State Council and oversees a range ministries, while the president serves as head of state. Xi also heads the party and serves as commander-in-chief of the military.
“You said this year is the last year in the current term of the Chinese government,” Li, 66, told reporters at the National People’s Congress in Beijing. “This year is also the last year in my premiership.”
The country is preparing for a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress in the second half of this year in which top party posts will be reshuffled. While Xi is expected to stay on for a precedent-breaking third-term as leader after removing presidential term limits in 2018, authorities have yet to comment publicly on his plans.
“I’m confident that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with strong support of various sectors, and especially with the joint hard work of the Chinese people across the country, China’s economy will be able to overcome difficulties,” Li said. “We will be able to achieve all the major goals and tasks for economic and social development set for the whole year and lay a due, solid foundation for the development of the country in the future.”
Li also serves as the No. 2 member of the Politburo’s supreme Standing Committee, a position he is young enough to retain even if he steps down from the premier’s job. Until Li’s promotion in 2012, the No. 2 party position was held by then-NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo while the No. 3 position was occupied by then-Premier Wen Jiabao.
www.bloombergquint.com
10:09 AM IST, 11 Mar 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he would step down from his post after this year, pointing to a coming reshuffle amid questions over the future of President Xi Jinping.
Li made the disclosure at his annual news conference Friday in response to a question about the accomplishments of his decade as China’s No. 2 official. In China, the premier leads the State Council and oversees a range ministries, while the president serves as head of state. Xi also heads the party and serves as commander-in-chief of the military.
“You said this year is the last year in the current term of the Chinese government,” Li, 66, told reporters at the National People’s Congress in Beijing. “This year is also the last year in my premiership.”
The country is preparing for a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress in the second half of this year in which top party posts will be reshuffled. While Xi is expected to stay on for a precedent-breaking third-term as leader after removing presidential term limits in 2018, authorities have yet to comment publicly on his plans.
“I’m confident that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with strong support of various sectors, and especially with the joint hard work of the Chinese people across the country, China’s economy will be able to overcome difficulties,” Li said. “We will be able to achieve all the major goals and tasks for economic and social development set for the whole year and lay a due, solid foundation for the development of the country in the future.”
Li also serves as the No. 2 member of the Politburo’s supreme Standing Committee, a position he is young enough to retain even if he steps down from the premier’s job. Until Li’s promotion in 2012, the No. 2 party position was held by then-NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo while the No. 3 position was occupied by then-Premier Wen Jiabao.
China’s Premier Says Term Ending as Questions Over Xi Future Remain
The country is preparing for a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress in the second half of this year.
