It’s the economy, bèndàn

Premier Li Qiang has the economy and technology on his mind – much more than his predecessor Li Keqiang did during the same period of his second term in office.

That's our conclusion from examining Li's domestic itinerary since he took over the premiership in March.

Some context: The premier often goes on short trips with other senior officials to talk shop with local governments, businesses, and people.

• Looking at how the premier chooses to spend his time on these trips can reveal his – and the central government's – priorities.

First off, Li Qiang has traveled more frequently than his predecessor did over the equivalent period:

• Between March 2023 and the first part of February 2024, Li Qiang made 16 trips, stopping at 95 venues.
• In the first year of his second term as premier, between March 2018 and February 2019, Li Keqiang made only seven domestic trips, visiting 38 venues.

What's more, Li Qiang's trips focused more on economic and technological development than Li Keqiang's:

• 77.9% of Li Qiang's stops over the period were related to economic affairs – compared to Li Keqiang's 60.5%.
• The current premier stressed the importance of technological innovation on 7.4% of his stops; Li Keqiang, on the other hand, scored a big fat "zero" on that front.

Get smart: The times have changed, and China's economic troubles (ahem, COVID and the property slump, anyone?) and tech tensions with the US have only deepened since 2018-2019.

• It looks like Li Qiang has his priorities straight.

Get smarter: The premier isn't undertaking these trips for fun. He's there to learn from what's happening on the ground – and ensure local governments are implementing central government directives.

• Li's more hands-on and consultative approach to policymaking increases the likelihood of good policy outcomes.