Former anti-graft chief Zhao Leji appointed China’s top lawmaker

Name: The ‘two sessions’ – China’s most important political meetings of the year
Uploaded: 2023-03-10T06:00:38.000Z
Duration: 4 min 30 s
Description: The ‘two sessions’ – China’s most important political meetings of the year

The 66-year-old was named the new chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee

He is seen as a trusted ally of President Xi Jinping and has years of experience in key party organs

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Zhao Leji, China’s No 3 official, is the new chairman of the NPC Standing Committee. Photo: Xinhua

Vanessa Caiin Shanghai

Published: 2:00pm, 10 Mar 2023Updated: 4:34pm, 10 Mar 2023

Former anti-corruption chief Zhao Leji was appointed as the new head of China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress (NPC), with a unanimous vote during the annual session of the national legislature on Friday.

His appointment was followed by those of 14 vice-chairs to the NPC Standing Committee. They include nine executive chairmen of the NPC presidium. Among them are former Tianjin Communist Party boss Li Hongzhong, former Sichuan party boss Wang Dongming and outgoing secretary general of the State Council Xiao Jie.

The others include former Sichuan party chief Peng Qinghua, Hunan party chief Zhang Qingwei, Tibet deputy party chief Losang Jamcan and former Xinjiang deputy party chief Shohrat Zakir.

Zhao, 66, is No 3 on the Politburo Standing Committee and was named chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, replacing Li Zhanshu, who retired this month.

Analysts expect that Zhao – seen as a trusted ally of President Xi Jinping with years of experience in key party organs – will prioritise Xi’s vision in the country’s legislative work, including on issues related to the United States and those concerning foreign entities and “foreign forces”.

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The ‘two sessions’ – China’s most important political meetings of the year

Those issues were among the legislative priorities for the coming year set out by his predecessor Li on Tuesday, including more engagement with other countries’ parliaments and support for the ruling Communist Party’s diplomatic agenda.

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