Questions stay on the way forward for China’s quantity two Li Keqiang

Mr Xi needs a premier who can handle the financial system competently, however on his phrases, mentioned Prof Tsang, as a substitute of somebody trying to function independently.

This has curtailed Mr Li’s affect over shaping the nation’s financial insurance policies and path.

MOVING FORWARD

Whereas factions nonetheless exist within the Communist Celebration, their variations nevertheless will not be as obvious anymore given Mr Xi’s consolidation of energy.

“China used to have a extra clearly identifiable system of two or three main factions that had comparatively discernible variations on how they approached sure key points, like development and state-owned enterprise reform,” mentioned Eurasia Group’s senior China analyst Neil Thomas.
 
“However now, we actually do have a state of affairs the place there’s one dominant faction beneath Xi Jinping.”

Due to this, observers count on Mr Xi to stack the highest echelons of China’s management with loyalists and allies, which implies modifications in personnel could not sign precise coverage shifts, particularly key ones which have been personally related to the president.