China's National People's Congress (NPC) has elected Li Qiang, the second-ranked Communist Party leader, as the new prime minister to succeed Li Keqiang on the 11th.
China's National People's Congress held a general meeting from 10:00 am on the 11th of Japan time and voted to decide the new prime minister to succeed Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who will retire due to the expiration of his term.
Among them, Mr. Li Qiang, who ranks second in the Communist Party hierarchy, was nominated as Prime Minister by President Xi Jinping, who entered his third term on the 10th, and was elected with a majority of 2,936 votes in favor, 3 against, and 8 abstentions.
New Prime Minister Li will hold his first press conference after taking office after the closing of the National People's Congress on the 13th.
Interest in unusual personnel affairs and political skills
China's new premier-elected Li Qiang is 63 years old from Zhejiang province.
After last year's Communist Party Congress, he was elected to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Supreme Leadership, ranking second in the party's hierarchy.
He joined the Communist Party in 1983 and has spent many years in his native Zhejiang province.
When President Xi Jinping was the top secretary of Zhejiang Province from 2002 to 2007, it is said that he has a close relationship with President Xi, such as serving as secretary-general to coordinate the executives of the province.
After that, after working as a secretary in Jiangsu Province, in 2017, he became a secretary in Shanghai, where President Xi also served, and was elected as a member of the Politburo of the leadership of the Communist Party.
When he was the secretary of the city of Shanghai, he met with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, an American electric car maker, and invited foreign companies to invest in Tesla, such as inviting Tesla's first overseas factory.
However, since the end of March last year, Shanghai has imposed strict restrictions on going out for more than two months based on the "zero corona" policy, and dissatisfaction has increased among local people.
In China, it has been customary for Li Qiang to be elected after gaining experience as vice premier before becoming prime minister. Interest is growing.