TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
'Xi Jinping's guy' Li Qiang set to be China's next premier
Li's back-channelling - sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which lost some of its power under the new set-up - demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with President Xi Jinping.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
This file photo taken on October 23, 2022 shows Li Qiang, Shanghai Communist Party Secretary, applauding as he is introduced as a member of the Communist Party of China's Politburo Standing Committee, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (AFP/Noel Celis)
F
our years before Li Qiang gained notoriety as the force behind the two-month COVID lockdown of Shanghai, the man set to become China's next premier worked quietly behind the scenes to drive a bold revamp of the megacity's sclerotic stock market.
Li's back-channelling - sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which lost some of its power under the new set-up - demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with President Xi Jinping.
In late 2018, Xi himself announced Shanghai's new tech-focused STAR Market as well as the pilot of a registration-based IPO system, reforms meant to entice China's hottest young firms to list locally rather than overseas.
"The CSRC was very unhappy," said a veteran banker close to regulators and Shanghai officials, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.
"Li's relationship with Xi played a role here," enabling him to present the scheme directly to the central government, without going through the CSRC, the person added.
The CSRC did not respond to a request for comment.
Previously the Communist Party chief in Shanghai, Li is poised to be confirmed as premier on Saturday during the ongoing National People's Congress, charged with managing the world's second largest economy. He would replace the retiring Li Keqiang, who is widely perceived to have been increasingly sidelined as Xi tightened his grip on management of the economy.
