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Li Qiang, Xi confidant, takes reins as China's premier

11 March 2023 12:12 (UTC +04:00)

Four years before Li Qiang gained notoriety as the force behind the two-month COVID-19 lockdown of Shanghai, the man who became China's premier on Saturday worked quietly behind the scenes to drive a bold revamp of the megacity's sclerotic stock market, APA reports.

Li's back-channelling - sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which lost some of its power under the new set-up - demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with President Xi Jinping.

In late 2018, Xi himself announced Shanghai's new tech-focused STAR Market as well as the pilot of a registration-based IPO system, reforms meant to entice China's hottest young firms to list locally rather than overseas.

"The CSRC was very unhappy," said a veteran banker close to regulators and Shanghai officials, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.

"Li's relationship with Xi played a role here," enabling him to present the scheme directly to the central government, without going through the CSRC, the person added.