Status: 03/12/2023 04:00 a.m
The head of government has already been chosen. The People’s Congress has now confirmed other cabinet members and the Deputy Prime Minister. The newcomers are close confidants of state and party leader Xi Jinping.
The reorganization of the Chinese government has been completed with the appointment of close confidants of head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. At the annual meeting of the People’s Congress in Beijing, the almost 3,000 delegates also approved the proposals for the posts of vice prime minister and cabinet members.
The former chief of staff and longtime Xi confidante Ding Xuexiang (60) became the acting first vice premier. The economic expert He Lifeng (68) is to take care of the economy and finance as another deputy prime minister. He takes on the role of the retiring Liu He (71), who led the trade talks with the United States.
sanctions against the general
General Li Shangfu (65), most recently the influential head of weapons development for the military commission and head of the manned space program, became the new defense minister. In 2018, under then-President Donald Trump, the United States imposed sanctions on the general personally and on his weapons development department.
Like his predecessor Wei Fenghe, Li Shangfu is the only military representative in the Chinese cabinet. The day before, the close Xi confidante and former party leader of Shanghai, Li Qiang (63), had been appointed as the new prime minister and successor.