“Both inside the Party and outside the Party, people are anxious about the centralisation of power around Xi [Xi Jinping]. I think we can read the increasing prominence of Li in that context. I think there are more people trying to signal their anxiety of Xi Jinping's centralisation of power and the potential future by supporting Li Keqiang in some way. It would be a mistake to think that Li is now able to counterbalance Xi, who has spent his first two terms in office building up personal power at the expense of his premier. I think Xi is probably making a tactical retreat on economics, so letting Li shoulder the economic troubles, if things go wrong then you've got the premier to blame, and if it goes right then it's to the benefit of Xi, and it eases some of the internal pressure.”
01 Jun 2022
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