on 30 March 2023 on 21 August 2024 Following the
first plenary session of the
20th CCP Central Committee, held after the closing day of the
20th Party Congress in October 2022, Li was elected to the
CCP Politburo Standing Committee as its second-ranking member. Effectively putting him on track to become the premier, observers speculated that the lack of Central Government experience would make him heavily dependent on support from Xi to run the
State Council. On 28 October, he was succeeded by
Chen Jining as the party secretary of Shanghai.
Reuters reported on 3 March 2023, citing sources, that Li pushed for the quick relaxation of
zero-COVID rules in late 2022, resisting pressure from Xi, who wanted to slow the pace of the reopening. It also reported that Li had become the head of the CCP's COVID taskforce, and had also encouraged local governments to continue loosening COVID restrictions. In December 2022, Li gave attended the opening ceremony of the 13th National Congress of the
All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and gave a speech "on behalf of the Communist Party's Central Committee and the State Council", hinting at his role in the State Council. Li was appointed as premier by the
National People's Congress on 11 March after being nominated by President Xi Jinping during the
first session of the 14th National People's Congress, taking over from
Li Keqiang. He is the first person since
Zhou Enlai to rise directly to premiership from local government without any prior working experience in the central government, especially as a
vice premier.
Domestic policy Since becoming the premier, Li has attempted to reassure private entrepreneurs and restore confidence after the damage caused by zero-COVID restrictions, lifted in December 2022, and regulatory campaigns undertaken by the government; he also reportedly persuaded Alibaba Group founder
Jack Ma to return to China after he spent a year overseas.
Special study sessions of the State Council, similar to the Politburo
collective study sessions, were established under Li Qiang in March 2023, after an amendment to the State Council Work Regulations. The new rules also re-established the Premier's Work Meeting, abolished in 2003, and reduced the frequency of
executive meetings of the State Council. Li has held more
plenary meetings of the State Council compared to his predecessors
Wen Jiabao and Li Keqiang. Though these meetings previously focused mostly on formalities, Li has used them to issue more authoritative instructions. On 27 March 2023, he attended the
China Development Forum, where he said that China will "unswervingly stick to
opening up". He also met many foreign business executives, including
Tim Cook of
Apple Inc. and
Ray Dalio of
Bridgewater Associates, who made their first trip to China since the zero-COVID policy ended. In July 2023, China ended its increased regulatory efforts in the technology sector and Li met with representatives of major tech companies to convey the "strongest signal" in support of the industry. Central government bodies and numerous local governments then introduces policy support for the
platform economy designed to increase economic growth and the creation of jobs. In September 2023, Li visited several technology companies including Beijing U-Precision Technology, where he called on for technological self reliance. In November 2023, Li Qiang was appointed as the head of the
Central Financial Commission, a newly established CCP body overseeing the financial sector. In January 2024, Li called for "forceful" methods to stabilize the Chinese stock market after it registered deep declines. He visited Hubei province during January 2024 in a trip to emphasize technological independence, where he visited
Yangtze Memory Technologies, the
Wuhan University, water conservancy projects, a chemical company focusing on green development in Yichang and a battery industrial estate set up by Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology, a subsidiary of
CATL. In the same month, he also visited Shaanxi province, where he paid a trip to Shaanxi Fast Auto Drive Group, the ESWIN Technology Group, a manufacturer of semiconductors used in cars, and Western Superconducting Technologies, full-process producer of niobium-titanium ingot rods; he called on manufacturers to increase investments in research and development. In March 2024, Li addressed the China Development Forum, where he praised China's economy and promised to lower barriers for foreign businesses. In July 2024, during a symposium with heads of
state-owned enterprises, private entrepreneurs and economists, he said China's economy was in "stable operation", while calling for "scientific policy decisions". In August 2024, during a meeting of the State Council, he called on China to introduce policies that are "tangible, effective and accessible to both the public and businesses". In December 2024, he warned local governments to not target private enterprises with unfair fines. The same month, he visited
Hangzhou,
Shaoxing and
Jiaxing in Zhejiang province, where he promised to "steadily expand" access to foreign-invested companies. In January 2025, Li visited Shandong province, where he called on officials to expand trade-in programmes to boost consumption, expand charging and battery-swapping infrastructure due to the increasing number of
new electric vehicles, and accelerate in the building of infrastructure and livelihood projects, including sports venues and modern water networks. In February 2025, he held a plenary meeting of the State Council, where he called on officials to "turn pressure into motivation". In the same month, during a meeting of the State Council, Li said China would adopt targeted policies to increase domestic consumption. He later also visited the research centers of
China Telecom,
China Unicom and
China Mobile, China's three state-owned telecom service providers, calling on them to increase innovation. In March 2025, Li visited Fujian, where he called on foreign trade enterprises to diversify their markets, innovate trade channels, boost product competitiveness and increase the integration of domestic and foreign trade. In the same month, he gave the opening address of the China Development Forum, where he said China has preparations for "unexpected shocks". In April 2025, Li held a symposium with economists and entrepreneurs, where he said China should "respond to the uncertainties of the external environment with strong and effective policies". In the same month, he called for greater support for domestic consumption. In June 2025, Li attended a ceremony to swear in 49 newly appointed central government officials, where he said that the "task to comprehensively promote the Chinese path to modernisation with high-quality development is heavy and difficult, with the external situation remaining complex and severe". In the same month, he took a three-day visit to Jiangsu, where he called on for further policies on technology, trade and increasing consumption. In July 2025, Li visited
Tibet, where he officially announced the launch of the
Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project. In the same month, he attended the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where he talked against "technological monopolies" in AI, which he said would lead the technology to be an "exclusive game for a few countries and companies", and proposed a "world AI co-operation organisation". In November 2025, Li gave remarks at the opening of the
China International Import Expo (CIIO), where he called on the world to "embrace free markets and free trade" and said China's economy would ¥170 trillion yuan by 2030. In December, he met with the 1+10 Dialogue in Beijing, including heads of the
International Momentary Fund, the
World Bank Group, the
World Trade Organization, the
OECD and the
International Labour Organization, where he called on them to reject protectionism. In January 2026, Li visited Guangdong, where he called on officials to take "extraordinary" measures to increase economic growth. In February 2026, he visited
Ganzhou,
Jiangxi, which included a visits to the Ganjiang Innovation Academy of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences and critical mineral producers, as well as a meeting with local business leaders and researchers. In March 2026 at the
third session of the 14th National People's Congress, Li delivered the annual government work report and called for measures to build a "fertility-friendly society" in order to raise
country's birth rate. The same month, he attended the China Development Forum where he promised "to promote the sound and balanced development of trade". In April 2026, Li undertook a three-day trip to Sichuan, calling for a "new-type power system" to accelerate the development of green technology and artificial intelligence. In the same month, he held a State Council meeting, where he alluded to the volatility in global oil and energy prices since the start of the
2026 Iran war, stating "Given upheavals in the international situation and the steady growth of China’s energy demand, we must maintain vigilance and a bottom-line mentality to enhance resilience and secure supplies".
Diplomacy and President of South Korea
Yoon Suk-yeol at the 2024 China-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit on 27 May 2024 , Li Qiang, and
Ursula von der Leyen at the EU–China Summit in Beijing, July 2025 In April 2023, Li met with Japanese foreign minister
Yoshimasa Hayashi in Beijing in order to improve ties. In May, Li met with Russian prime minister
Mikhail Mishustin, where he the "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era", saying that bilateral
trade between China and Russia had increased by 40% over the past year. On 19 June 2023, Li started a trip to Germany, his first trip overseas as premier, where he met with president
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, chancellor
Olaf Scholz, as well as CEOs of large German companies such as
Mercedes-Benz,
SAP, and
Siemens Energy. After four days in Germany, he travelled to France on 21 June, where he met with French president
Emmanuel Macron, prime minister
Élisabeth Borne, as well as European Council president
Charles Michel. Li addressed the
World Economic Forum's 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, where he said China's economy remained on track and criticized efforts at "derisking". Between 5 and 8 September, Li visited Jakarta, Indonesia, where he met with various
ASEAN leaders. Li additionally met other leaders such as Australian prime minister
Anthony Albanese, Japanese prime minister
Fumio Kishida and South Korean president
Yoon Suk Yeol during various summits such as the ASEAN Plus Three summit and the
East Asia Summit. Li Qiang also met with Indonesian president
Joko Widodo, vowing $21.7 billion new Chinese investment in Indonesia. Between 9 and 10 September, Li attended the
G20 New Delhi summit as the representative of President Xi Jinping, who did not attend; this marked the first time the Chinese premier attended the G20 summit instead of the president. There, he met various leaders such as Italian prime minister
Giorgia Meloni, President of the European Commission
Ursula von der Leyen, and British prime minister
Rishi Sunak. In January 2024, Li Qiang visited Switzerland and Ireland, and he attended the annual meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos. In April, Li invited Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte and German Chancellor
Olaf Scholz to visit China. In May, Li met with Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Beijing. Between May 26 and May 27, Li attended the
China–Japan–South Korea trilateral summit in
Seoul, and met with South Korean President
Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida. In mid-June 2024, Li Qiang visited New Zealand, where he was hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister
Christopher Luxon and Governor-General
Cindy Kiro to sign trade and climate change agreements. China agreed to extend visa-free travel to New Zealanders while New Zealand agreed to support Chinese language training and cultural exchange programmes by local
Confucius Institutes. in Beijing, 29 January 2026 In March 2025, he met with United States Senator
Steve Daines, who is also a close ally of President
Donald Trump. In May 2025, he addressed the inaugural summit of the meeting of China, the ASEAN and the
Gulf Cooperation Council. He addressed the annual WEF meeting in Tianjin in June 2025, where he said China would "open its doors still wider to the world" and that it would transition to a "mega-consumer market". In September 2025, Li addressed the
general debate of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly where he criticized the rise in unilateral and protectionist measures in trade and also warned against the rise of "unilateralism and
Cold War mentality." In October 2025, Li visited North Korea to attend the 80th anniversary celebrations of the
Workers' Party of Korea, where he also met with North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un. In November 2025, Li visited Russia to attend the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation heads of government summit, visited
Zambia for an official visit, and attended
G20 Johannesburg as the representative of President Xi, marking his second attendance to a G20 summit. At the summit, he called for an "international economic and trade co-operation initiative on green minerals". == Political views ==