The pro-business track record of the man poised to become China’s top economic official will make his term a test of whether he might moderate President Xi Jinping ’s tendency to intervene.
Li Qiang, 63, who is expected to be chosen China’s premier on Saturday, will have to grapple with a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, which is dealing with emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, weak global demand for exports, lingering U.S. tariff hikes, a shrinking workforce and an aging population.
