The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Premier Li Keqiang, China’s second-largest political leader, has been marginalized by President Xi Jinping for years, “but now, Li Keqiang is re-energizing with his own influence to become China’s second-largest political leader. It is a potential counterbalancing force that the top government has not seen in nearly a decade.” In addition, Li Keqiang has emphasized “stabilizing employment” in meetings three times since the end of April. According to Hong Kong media analysis, this shows that the challenges of China’s employment situation cannot be underestimated, and the high-level differences behind the “unemployment” issue and the authorities’ fear of regime instability have also attracted much attention.
Li Keqiang shouted three times in half a month that “the wave of unemployment may impact the regime”
Hong Kong’s “Ming Pao” reported that Li Keqiang talked about “employment stabilization” three times recently, namely at the executive meeting of the State Council of China on April 27, in which he “decided to strengthen the policy of stabilizing jobs and promoting employment”. The second time was in the May 7 national video and teleconference on stabilizing employment, stating that “the current employment situation is complicated and severe.” At the executive meeting of the State Council of China on May 11, Li Keqiang also demanded that “fiscal and monetary policies be oriented by giving priority to employment.” “Ming Pao” quoted an analysis that Li Keqiang mentioned “stabilizing employment” three times within half a month, which shows that China’s employment situation is facing challenges that cannot be underestimated. The second reason is that the number of graduates from colleges and universities in China in 2022 is expected to reach 10.76 million, breaking the 10 million mark for the first time, with an annual increase of 1.67 million.”
Wu Aihua, deputy director of the Department of Higher Education Students of the Chinese Ministry of Education, recently admitted that the graduates of Chinese colleges and universities (universities) in 2022 will face multiple employment pressures, and the degree of difficulty is even higher than that of graduates in 2020, and the anxiety of graduates has increased. According to Chinese official data, China’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.8% in March, “the highest level since May 2020.” However, the real number of unemployed is believed to be higher. Earlier, Li Keqiang said that “there are 200 million people in flexible employment across the country.” However, “flexible employment personnel” refers to people who do not have a fixed job and are actually precarious.
The epidemic burned at the feet of the emperor, implying that “Jiang Xi” was fierce?
According to Chinese and foreign media reports, although Li Keqiang kept sounding the alarm on employment and his remarks sounded quite harsh, Li Keqiang did not mention Xi Jinping’s strategy of “zeroing out” the epidemic. At present, most parts of the world are gradually returning to normal life, but the CCP insists on promoting the “zero policy” and prohibits voices against the policy. Large cities such as Shanghai and Beijing are all under blockade.
At the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China on May 5, Xi Jinping stressed the need to unswervingly adhere to “dynamic clearing”, and said “resolutely fight against all words and deeds that distort, doubt, and deny China’s epidemic prevention policy.” However, Xi Jinping There is no mention of how to reduce the damage to the economy.
The practical and policy differences between Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang have often been inconsistent, often attracting outside attention. “Bloomberg” quoted Rhodium Group senior analyst Jordan Schneider as saying that Li Keqiang “represents the technocrats in the system who are very frustrated with how to make the commitment to zero.” And said, “Li Keqiang is trying to get cadres ( While clearing it), economic and public health aspects are also considered.”
Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, said China’s zero policy was a “disaster” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Locking down and waiting for the virus to go away won’t work, he said. “If you’re going to shut down a country and do a lockdown, you first have to realise that the lockdown is just a temporary measure.”
Fauci continued, “The purpose of the lockdown is to give you enough time to properly vaccinate the vast majority of the population with good vaccines, especially vulnerable groups such as the elderly, but the CCP is clearly not doing that.” Fauci said the Chinese authorities Despite strict lockdown measures, vaccination rates (effectively) are very low, especially among particularly vulnerable older adults.
WSJ: Li Keqiang is stepping out of Xi’s shadow to restore China’s economy
At a time when China is in its worst economic woes in recent years, Li Keqiang is playing a role in urging Mr. Xi to roll back some of the measures that have steered China away from Western-style capitalism and partly contributed to the slowdown, according to Chinese government officials and advisers close to policymakers.
Under the influence of Li Keqiang, the Chinese government has recently loosened its regulatory oversight of private technology companies, eased lending restrictions on property developers and homebuyers, and put China on the map after Xi’s “dynamic clearing” policy to fight the virus, these people said. While many regions are under lockdown, actions have been taken to help some manufacturing companies resume production and work.
The 66-year-old Li Keqiang, who is less than a year away from stepping down as premier, is still trying to exert influence in finding his own successor, the people close to the decision-making level said. As Xi consolidates power, paving the way for at least another five years in power, Li Keqiang aims to find a prime minister who can serve as a check and balance again, these people said.
Under the influence of Li Keqiang, China has recently eased regulation and rectification of private technology companies, eased lending restrictions on real estate developers and home buyers, and under Xi Jinping’s “dynamic clearing” anti-epidemic policy has left many in China, these people said. While the region is under lockdown, actions have been taken to help some manufacturing companies resume production and work. The 66-year-old Li Keqiang is still trying to exert influence in finding his own successor, the sources added, with Li Keqiang due to step down as prime minister in less than a year, “as Xi Jinping consolidates power and seeks to stay in power for at least five more years. To pave the way, Li Keqiang’s goal is to find a prime minister who can again act as a check and balance.”
In China’s opaque political system, it’s hard to gauge how much support Li Keqiang actually has. Li Keqiang’s move was supported by some Communist Party officials concerned that Mr. Xi was too obsessed with ideology rooted in Mao Zedong’s socialist vision, rather than prioritizing practical measures aimed at ensuring economic growth, the people said. Among the supporters of Li Keqiang’s action are officials associated with the Communist Youth League, which was once a powerful organization. Many former top leaders, led by former Chinese President Hu Jintao, came from the Communist Youth League. out of favor.
In addition, Li Keqiang wants state-owned enterprises to slim down, improve efficiency, and make it easier for migrant families to receive education and other benefits in cities. Economists at Barclays (LSE), the second-largest bank in the United States, coined a new term “Likonomics” for Li Keqiang’s economic thinking. But the term has fallen out of favor in Chinese politics as it becomes clear that Mr. Xi has moved beyond the traditional division of labor between president and prime minister to monopolize economic power.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Premier Li Keqiang, China’s second-largest political leader, has been marginalized by President Xi Jinping for years, “but now, Li Keqiang is re-energizing with his own influence to become China’s second-largest political leader. A potential counterweight that the top government has not seen in nearly a decade.”
In addition, since the end of April, Li Keqiang has emphasized “stabilizing employment” in the meeting three times. According to Hong Kong media analysis, this shows that the challenges of China’s employment situation cannot be underestimated, and the high-level differences behind the “unemployment” issue and the authorities’ fear of regime instability have also attracted much attention.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Photo: Dazhi Image/Associated Press (file photo)
Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Dazhi Image/Associated Press (file photo)
He is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Pictured from left to right are Han Zheng, Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang and Zhao Leji, of which Xi Jinping is the President of China. Photo: Dazhi Image/Associated Press (file photo)