Xi’s New No. 2 Faces Challenge to Make China’s Economy Hum Again
Li Qiang will be tested by lockdowns, housing, headwinds to growth.
Xi Jinping and Li Qiang following the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on Oct. 23.
Photographer: Tingshu Wang/Reuters
As the Chinese Communist Party’s top boss in Shanghai, Li Qiang helped smooth Elon Musk’s path to opening Tesla Inc.’s first overseas factory. He’s been an outspoken advocate for privately owned businesses, too. But he was also the driving force behind the Covid-related lockdown that earlier this year put the brakes on economic activity in mainland China’s biggest financial hub.
Now he’s been catapulted into the party’s No. 2 slot—behind President Xi Jinping—and all eyes are on how he might shape policy on the national level as the world’s second-largest economy navigates an array of challenges, from demographic shifts and US technology sanctions to the fallout from continuing anti-Covid measures and a meltdown in the housing market.