Li’s looser leash

Premier Li Qiang has more li-way (get it?) to shape economic policy than his predecessor Li Keqiang.

How do we know?

• Since Li took over as premier in March, at least six policies to develop specific industries have been approved at the (roughly) weekly State Council executive meetings.
• During Li Keqiang’s entire second term (2018-23), only ONE policy document of the same kind was approved at a State Council executive meeting.

And that's not the whole story of Li's increased authority.

• Executive meetings used to be the only platform for the State Council leadership to take big decisions.
• But Li has established an additional platform, the premier work meeting, where major policy decisions can get made.

Bummer alert: The State Council keeps premier work meetings secret, so we don't know what has been decided at them.

Get smarter: The (partial) return of economic policymaking power to the State Council from the Party will make policymaking more pragmatic and less ideological.

Get smart: This marks another sign that Xi Jinping is delegating some power in his third term. That reduces the risk that he becomes a bottleneck for policymaking at a time when Beijing needs economic solutions fast.