Whatever happened to Likonomics? Chinese Premier Li Keqiang heads for the exit

Li promoted the private economy, foreign investment and simpler government procedures – even when his power waned

But he is ‘the least influential premier compared with his predecessors Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao’, says political analyst

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Published: 6:00pm, 6 Mar 2023Updated: 11:05am, 13 Apr 2023

After delivering his last government work report as Chinese premier on Sunday, Li Keqiang gave a customary bow to the audience in the Great Hall of the People and leaders on the rostrum.

It was the opening of the annual parliament in Beijing and marked the end of Li’s two five-year terms – the maximum allowed under China’s constitution for premiership.

Li, 67, who will retire at the end of this week, delivered his swan song flatly, revealing nothing of himself. He devoted most of his time at the podium to talking about the government’s performance in the past five years and touched only briefly on its plans for the future.

He began the speech by saying the term of this government was “about to come to a close” and finished it by rallying support for the Communist Party’s Central Committee with “comrade Xi Jinping at its core”.

When he walked back to his chair, there was no obvious eye contact between Li and Xi who sat next to him. Li’s return to his seat was only interrupted by the longer-than-expected applause from the nearly 3,000 NPC deputies.

The outgoing premier stood up and bowed to thank the audience briefly, before the media spotlight shifted away.