Communist Party leader Li Qiang, a close confidant of President Xi Jinping, has been sworn in as China`s new prime minister. Earlier, third-term President Xi Jinping chose the 63-year-old Communist leader as the new prime minister.
According to the report of the British news agency Reuters, he took the oath after the nomination of Li Qiang as the new prime minister at the country`s parliament National People`s Congress in Beijing on Saturday morning. Before that, Li Keqiang became the prime minister in 2013. He was succeeded by Li Qiang.
Li Qiang was known to be close to Xi Jinping when he was general secretary of the Communist Party in the eastern province of Zhejiang from 2004 to 2007. Apart from that, Li Qiang was also the head of the Communist Party of Shanghai, China`s largest city.
Last October, Li Qiang was promoted to the second top position in the Politburo Standing Committee at the Council of the Chinese Communist Party. It was assumed then that he would be the next prime minister.
On the other hand, the current Prime Minister Keqiang, who served two terms of five years, will retire next Monday.
Li took office amid rising tensions with the West, including moves by the United States to curb China`s technological advances. Li Qiang is the first prime minister since the founding of the People`s Republic who has never previously served in the central government.
According to analysts, Li`s main task as prime minister will be to revive China`s sluggish economy stemming from the pandemic. He also has to deal with weak global demand for exports, rising US tariffs, a shrinking labor force and an aging population.
He is said to make his debut on the international stage on Monday during the Prime Minister`s traditional question-and-answer session with the media after the end of the parliamentary session.
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