Li Keqiang

Li became the youngest Chinese provincial governor in June 1998 when he was appointed governor of Henan at the age of 43. According to provincial officials working with him at the time, Li refused to participate in any banquets or large fancy events not related to government activities.[15] During his time as governor, a public sense of his "bad luck" grew due to the occurrence of three major fires in the province.[16]

Li is known to be outspoken and led economic development in Henan, transforming the poor inland region into an attractive area for investment. Li did not spend time pursuing superficial projects. He trekked through all regions of the province trying to search for a comprehensive solution to its growing problems. Henan jumped in national GDP rankings from 28th in the early 1990s to 18th in 2004, when Li left Henan. However, his government was relatively ineffective at curbing the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was affecting the rural areas of the province.

Li was transferred to work as the Party secretary in Liaoning in December 2004, taking on the top political office of the province. There he is known for the "Five-points to one Line" project, where he linked up Dalian and Dandong, as well as a series of other ports into a comprehensive network to improve trade flow.

With his Youth League experience and his association with then paramount leader Hu Jintao, Li was seen from early on in Hu's term as a contender to succeed Hu when his term as party leader ends in 2012. Li gained membership to the Politburo Standing Committee at 17th Party Congress held in October 2007. He was succeeded in his provincial party secretary post by governor Zhang Wenyue. While Li's political future seemed promising, he was outranked on the Standing Committee by Xi Jinping, who had just left his role as party secretary of Shanghai to join the central leadership ranks in Beijing. This rank order ostensibly signaled that it would be Xi, not Li, who would eventually succeed Hu as party general secretary and president. At the 2008 National People's Congress, Li was elected vice premier, first in rank, reinforcing the speculation that Li would become premier and was being groomed to succeed then-premier Wen Jiabao.[16]

March 2015, Li attends the Chinese and foreign press conference.

Li has an academic background in economics and is therefore a firm believer in the use of robust economic data to aid in government decision making. He is known to study economic statistics and routinely questions the reliability of the data he works with. Li has been described by international media as the pioneer behind the so-called "Keqiang index",[29] an unconventional economic measurement indicator devised by Li that was said to bypass the often unreliable official GDP numbers and thus serves as a better indicator of economic health and a more useful barometer for decision-making. Instead of gathering data on total economic output alone, Li used three other indicators to keep tabs on the economy while working in Liaoning province. These were, the railway cargo volume, electricity consumption and total loans disbursed by banks.

When Li initially entered office, China was facing numerous structural problems inherited from the previous administration. Namely, the large abundance of non-performing loans, that many of the giant infrastructure projects the country embarked on since the global financial crisis was overloaded with crushing debt and lower than expected revenues, and the increasingly large wealth gap. Under these circumstances, Li was said to have responded with what became known as "Likonomics", a term coined by economists at the investment bank Barclays Capital. Likonomics consisted of a three-prong approach that included the across-the-board reduction of debt, an end to massive stimulus practices of the Wen Jiabao government, and structural reforms.[30] However, by 2014, global economic pressures and a decrease in demand of Chinese exports led to lower than expected economic growth rates. Year-on-year GDP growth amounted to less than 7.5% for the first time since 1989. Li's government then responded with tax cuts for small businesses, renovation projects of poor urban areas, and another round of rail construction, particularly focused on the country's interior.[31]

After the announcement of comprehensive reforms at the Third Plenum in 2013, Li became a leading figure of the government's reform implementation efforts. The Third Plenum called for market forces to play a "decisive" role in the allocation of resources, ostensibly looking to decrease government regulation on the free market. In early 2014, Li said that local governments were still ineffective at following the central government's reform directives, and that some governments meddle in affairs they shouldn't be involved in, and some don't pay attention to things they should be doing. Li emphasized that the success of reforms came down to "execution and implementation," and criticized local governments for failing to act in support of reforms.[32]

Li Keqiang made his first foreign visit to India on 18 May 2013 in a bid to resolve border disputes and to stimulate economic relations.[33] He said the choice of India as the first international visit highlights Chinese importance in its relations with the country.[34] During prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in 2015, Li and Modi took a selfie together at the Temple of Heaven.

During his visit to Pakistan, Li met with the country's top leadership and expressed his views: "As Pakistan's closest friend and brother, we would like to provide as much assistance as we can for the Pakistani side".[35]

Li also visited Switzerland and Germany on his first Europe trip, and met with the two countries' leaders.[36]

United States lieutenant general H. R. McMaster wrote of Li that, "If anyone in the American group had any doubts about China's view of its relationship with the United States, Li's monologue would have removed them. He began with the observation that China, having already developed its industrial and technological base, no longer needed the United States."[37]

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  June 2013, Li meets the South Korean president Park Geun-hye.
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  December 2013, Li meets the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.
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  February 2014, Li meets the United States Secretary of State John Kerry.
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  May 2015, Li meets the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff.
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  November 2018, Li meets the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Li is especially critical of unnecessary government bureaucracy, particularly at the grassroots level. He believes that many lower-level officials fail to provide services to the public in an effective manner. Regarding his disdain for the matter, Li's many quotable anecdotes have become viral. Li referred to a case in which a citizen filling out a form to travel overseas (normal in the PRC) had to write down an emergency contact (the citizen put down their mother as the contact), and the government official overseeing the matter asked the citizen to provide a notarized document to "prove your mom is your mom."[38] Li called this incident "absolutely preposterous." In another case, he referred to a grassroots civil servant who asked for proof that a one-year old does not have a criminal record in order to deliver a government service.[39] In yet another case, Li referred to a senior citizen applying for welfare benefits being forced by government employees to provide proof that "they are still alive." Regarding the latter two incidents, Li said, "this is not a joke, it's all real!"[39]

Li Keqiang, a vocal proponent of bolstering technological innovation, lamented how China was producing 800 million tons of steel annually but still importing the specialized type of stainless steel needed to make the better tip cases. The Chinese premier's comments caused consternation in China's pen industry – which was not used to being the topic of mainstream political conversation. These pen companies were once happy to manufacture shoddy pens that were sometimes exported abroad as cheap knockoffs of better brands. Now, they were being told that they were expected to do something more.[40]

He reiterated this point frequently during public appearances, adding that pens using domestically produced parts felt inferior to foreign ones. The ballpoint pen became a potent symbol for perceived flaws in China's economy and technological capabilities. "That's the real situation facing us", Li said at a meeting with economists in December 2015. "We cannot make ballpoint pens with a smooth writing function". In 2016 Li went on national television and bemoaned the failure of his country to produce a good quality version of this seemingly-simple implement. Locally-made versions felt "rough" compared to those from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, Mr Li complained.

On one level, whether China can make a great pen is not hugely important in the scheme of things. High-tech and innovative manufacturing lie at the heart of the central government's Made in China 2025 programme – designed to help domestic growth. Relatively low-value items, like ballpoint pens, have not been a priority. But the pen-conundrum was a symbolic one. About much more than pens, his goal is to encourage independence and innovation. The pen tip issue was first brought into the spotlight by Li Keqiang, offering an insight into a major issue confronting Chinese manufacturers – weak competitiveness in core technology. State-owned Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co plans to mass-produce ballpoint pen tips and replace imports in two years, company officials said in 2017.[41]

Xi Jinping (left) and Li Keqiang (right)

At the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee held in the fall of 2013, the Communist Party announced far reaching economic and social reforms. However, the document outlining the reforms was drafted under the leadership of Xi, Liu Yunshan and Zhang Gaoli, and Li was ostensibly not involved in preparing the document. This departure from convention (Wen Jiabao was the principal drafter of documents behind the reforms announced at the Third Plenum of 2003) led to speculation that Li was becoming marginalized in the new administration, and that the widely touted "Xi-Li Administration" in fact did not exist, as power was increasingly being centralized under the hands of Xi as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.[42]

Following the Third Plenum of 2013, Xi amassed a series of leadership roles on four new powerful supra-ministerial bodies overseeing "comprehensively deepening reforms", the internet, military reform, and also the National Security Commission. The "deepening reforms" leading group was said to be encroaching on the affairs in the economic realm normally handled by the premier, and was seen as having the effect of reducing Li's institutional power. However, Li appeared in official press releases as Xi's foremost lieutenant, being named Vice Chairman of the National Security Commission,[43] in addition to becoming the deputy leader of leading groups on "deepening reforms", internet security, and the economy and finance.

On 18 March 2018, Li was reappointed premier of China after receiving 2,964 votes in favour and just two against by the National People's Congress.[44]

Since January 2020, Li has been in charge of the Chinese government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[45][46] On 27 January, Li visited Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic, to direct outbreak prevention work.[47]

On 11 March 2022, Li confirmed that he would be stepping down as premier of China upon the expiration of his second term in March 2023.[48] However, there were speculations that he may continue serving as CCP Politburo Standing Committee member and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.[49] In August, Li gave a speech in Shenzhen praising Deng Xiaoping and economic liberalization which was later censored by the Chinese government.[50]

During the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2022, Li was not included on the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party which indicates his political retirement.[51]