In Beijing, China, March 13, 2023, new Chinese Communist Party premier Li Qiang waves to the media ahead of his first press conference at the Great Hall of the People’s Republic of China. The first two people following Li Qiang are Vice Premiers Ding Xuexiang and He Lifeng respectively. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
[Epoch Times, March 13, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporters Ning Haizhong and Luo Ya) The cabinet team of the new Chinese Communist Party Premier Li Qiang was formed yesterday (12th). He Lifeng, the deputy prime minister, was handed over to his former minister, Zheng Shanjie. Analysts believe that the National Development and Reform Commission was originally He Lifeng’s turf, while First Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang is in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, and Li Qiang is the prime minister who is in charge of the overall situation.
Li Qiang formed a cabinet and replaced the director of the National Development and Reform Commission, attracting attention
The four vice-premiers elected at the fifth plenary session of the National People’s Congress on the 12th were Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing, and Liu Guozhong. Among them, Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, and He Lifeng, a member of the Politburo, are considered to be Xi Jinping’s cronies, while Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong are technocrats.
Regarding the future duties of the four deputy prime ministers, current affairs commentator Li Linyi told The Epoch Times on the 13th that Ding Xuexiang is expected to succeed Han Zheng as the executive vice premier, in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; He will take over the field previously headed by Liu He and be responsible for finance, industry and other fields. Liu Guozhong is in charge of education, health, culture and sports, etc.; Zhang Guoqing is in charge of agriculture, business, etc.
Li Linyi said that this is Xi’s way of balancing power. The money bags and important positions are controlled by their own people, leaving the hard work and dirty work for non-Xi to do. This leaves a little sense of balance to the outside world. Because two of the four deputy prime ministers are not his cronies.
Among Li Qiang’s cabinet team, the five state councilors appointed yesterday are Li Shangfu, Wang Xiaohong, Wu Zhenglong, Chen Yiqin and Qin Gang.
In terms of ministers, apart from Wu Zhenglong, the former Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, who was appointed as the Secretary-General of the State Council, several candidates for ministers who have attracted more attention from the outside world include Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Zhajie, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, Minister of National Security Chen Yixin, and Minister of Finance Liu Kun. However, except for the Secretary-General of the State Council, the Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Minister of National Defense, the ministers who served before the two sessions basically remained in their posts.
The change of director of the National Development and Reform Commission of the Communist Party of China has attracted attention. The Xi Jinping Economic Thought Research Center is located in the National Development and Reform Commission. The new National Data Bureau of the CCP is under the control of the National Development and Reform Commission. In addition, the national defense mobilization offices that have recently been listed in various places are also under the management of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Analysis: The State Council’s “three pillars” Xi Jinping plays with the balance of power
He Lifeng, the former head of the National Development and Reform Commission, was born in Xingning, Guangdong, and was born in Yongding County, Fujian Province. He had a close relationship with Xi in Fujian in his early years. During He Lifeng’s tenure as director of the National Development and Reform Commission, he accompanied Xi Jinping on foreign visits and inspections for a long time. The new director of the Development and Reform Commission, Zheng Zhajie, is from Zhangzhou, Fujian. He has worked in Fujian for many years like He Lifeng, and the two have direct experience in working together. When He Lifeng was the Secretary of the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee from 2005 to 2009, Zheng Zhajie was in the Xiamen Municipal Development and Reform Commission. director.
Zheng Shanjie was transferred to the deputy director of the National Energy Administration in August 2015, and served as the deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in April 2017. From the end of 2017 to September 2021, he was transferred to Zhejiang Province, and successively served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee, deputy secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, acting governor, and governor. From September 2021 to March 2023, he will serve as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in Anhui Province.
Wang He, an expert on China, told The Epoch Times on the 12th that Zheng Shanjie, the new director of the National Development and Reform Commission, has a much closer relationship with He Lifeng than he has with the new Premier Li Qiang. The National Development and Reform Commission itself is He Lifeng’s territory. From this point of view, as the vice premier, He Lifeng may have greater real power in the State Council than Liu He before him.
Wang He said that the predecessor of the National Development and Reform Commission was the State Planning Commission, which was called a small State Council. During the so-called reform and opening up process of the CCP, the entire reform plan was prepared by the National Development and Reform Commission. Among the ministries and commissions of the central government, the Development and Reform Commission has the sole power, but it has also aroused criticism. “At that time, many people suggested that if the CCP wants to reform its party and government institutions, the first thing is to get rid of the National Development and Reform Commission. Why should it have so much power? But this matter has not been resolved.”
Wang He believes that the recent power expansion of the Development and Reform Commission has increased the imbalance between the various ministries and commissions.
Wang He analyzed that the State Council of the Communist Party of China currently has many important positions in the Xi family army, and there is a situation of competition for territory. Premier Li Qiang did not have his own people in the State Council, so he transferred his partner Wu Zhenglong from Jiangsu to be the secretary-general. The first deputy prime minister, Ding Xuexiang, used to be in charge of party affairs in the central government and did not have his own economic personnel. Now only He Lifeng has his own personnel and his own territory in the State Council – the National Development and Reform Commission.
Wang He believes that the State Council has a three-legged confrontation, Li Qiang, Ding Xuexiang, and He Lifeng, but He Lifeng is relatively strong, which is a test for Li Qiang. Liu Kun and Yi Gang, who withdrew from the Central Committee this time, remained in the State Council, probably because Xi wanted Li Qiang to have time to adjust personnel.
“If we move now, the biggest beneficiary will be He Lifeng. Since Xi Jinping handed over the plate to Li Qiang, he will definitely support Li Qiang and ask Li Qiang to build his own team. But Li Qiang has just arrived, and his The best strategy is to continue to maintain and adjust slowly.”
However, Wang He said that the CCP is still moving toward centralization, and the centralization can only be concentrated in the hands of Xi Jinping. If it is concentrated in the hands of the Premier of the State Council, even if Li Qiang belongs to Xi Jinping, it will not work. Therefore, Xi Jinping also considered restricting Li Qiang’s power. . Xi then asked He Lifeng to be the deputy prime minister, and increased the authority of He Lifeng’s local Development and Reform Commission. From this perspective, Xi is actually playing a game of political balance.
Responsible editor: Gao Jing#