Li, China’s economic conscience against covid zero

Faced with the efforts of the Chinese president, Xi Jinpingto maintain the strategy of zero COVIDthe first Minister, Li Keqianghas become the economic conscience of the Asian giant with constant calls for pragmatism when imposing restrictions to curb outbreaks.

in his last “inspection tour” -protocol that the leaders of the communist regime usually use to announce new policies and decree instructions- for the eastern province of Fujian, Li urged officials and businessmen to do everything possible to stabilize the economy, the local press reported today.

Li cautioned that although it is “recovering”it is a moment “critical” and demanded “be more efficient” at the time of “Combine COVID prevention with development”.

On this visit to Fujian, he called for funds for innovation parks, reforms to cut red tape and expand ports in the region to improve its competitiveness.

At the end of May, Li already surprised with a video conference with provincial leaders in which he asked for flexibility with the pandemic restrictions, which some experts interpreted as a struggle or a sign of his disagreements with Xi, who in his statements has always given priority to the strategy of “zero tolerance” against COVID.

In a recent visit to Wuhan, where the first cases of the coronavirus were detected, Xi assured that the policy is “correct and effective”and that the consequences of not having started it would be “unimaginable” taking into account the vast population of the Asian country, of 1,402 million people.

The country is still going through a wave of outbreaks attributed to the contagious omicron variant that it tackles with its usual script: closure of its borders, quarantines for those who manage to arrive from abroad, isolation of those infected and close contacts, partial or total confinements and massive PCR campaigns. where cases are detected.

While Xi defends tooth and nail the strategy, which has also caused unprecedented social discontent, Li insists on its devastating effects on the economy, especially on consumption, and focuses on the message that small businesses must be helped, encourage entrepreneurship or grant unemployment benefits.

But omicron’s high transmissibility has complicated prevention efforts to detect new infections, and CCP officials must prevent the spread of the virus or else face dismissal or disciplinary punishment.

the spanish expert Xulio Riosdirector of the Observatory of Chinese Politics, predicted that this year there would be no “significant changes” in this policy and that, if anything is foreseeable, it is a “tightening of already known measures”.

Congress in sight

In his speeches, Li has also emphasized that the second largest economy on the planet needs trade, investment and financial exchanges not to stop, for which he has promised more openness and support for exporting companies.

China also seeks to attract foreign investment in the fields of mid- and high-end manufacturing and R&D, in addition to channeling it to less developed regions, something for which it needs to generate confidence among developed countries that have investment capacity.

The real estate crisis, doubts about the credibility of Chinese assets or the high public debt are other problems that lie in wait, given which Xi has opted for the classic investment in infrastructure.

Thus, the government will announce this Friday the evolution of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter after growing 4.8% in the first and with the official objective of reaching 5.5% during the year as a whole, of great political importance. for holding the 20th CPC Congress in the autumn.

Xi aspires to an internal re-election for a third term -unprecedented among his latest predecessors-, while Li will leave the position of ‘premier’: it remains to be seen if his successor will be close to his figure, linked in turn to that of the previous president , Hu Jintaotechnocrat trained as Li in the Communist Youth League.

The new composition of the CPC’s top governing body, the Politburo Standing Committee, could be decided this summer, when Chinese leaders meet in the coastal city of Beidaihe.

“In recent months, various provincial leaders have bowed to Xi in different publications as a show of loyalty, something that had not happened before other congresses”indicates the political scientist Gu Su to the Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post, insinuating that Xi’s continuity would not be in question.

There have also been convictions for corruption for former senior CCP officials, which some experts see as a message to anyone who wants to condition Xi’s ambitions, and promotions have been promoted from close to the current president as wang xiaohongrecently appointed Minister of Public Security.