Li Keqiang helps press the president to dial back policies that have contributed to the economy’s slowdown
Premier Li Keqiang, left, and President Xi Jinping at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing last year. MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
For years, President Xi Jinping has sidelined China’s second most powerful political figure, Premier Li Keqiang. Now, Mr. Li is re-emerging as a force in his own right, a potential counterbalance atop the Chinese government that hasn’t been seen for nearly a decade.
With China mired in its worst economic funk in recent memory, Mr. Li is helping press China’s authoritarian leader to dial back some measures that steered the country away from Western-style capitalism and contributed to China’s economic slowdown, according to government officials and advisers close to decision-making.
Under Mr. Li’s influence, those people said, Beijing recently eased a regulatory crackdown on private technology firms, loosened lending to property developers and home buyers, and acted to help some manufacturers resume production when much of China has been forced into lockdowns by Mr. Xi’s zero-Covid approach.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-premier-li-keqiang-xi-jinping-11652277107
