Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s quick economic fixes pass with zero votes against – a show of approval by National People’s Congress?
- Ballot often seen as barometer of premier’s popularity, with hundreds having opposed some of Li’s past reports – but he is seen as face of Xi Jinping’s policies
- In Friday’s other ballots, on supreme court and prosecutor reports, 156 and 71 delegates vote against respectively
Tax and fees cuts, stabilisation of employment and more social services – these were some of the quick fixes pledged by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in his annual work report, to address uncertainties in economic outlook and international relations. And in a rare move, not one delegate opposed the report when the National People’s Congress voted on it on Friday.
In the ballot on Li’s report, 2,945 delegates voted in favour and three abstained.
Although the NPC, China’s highest legislative body, is often described by observers as a rubber-stamp chamber and has never vetoed a work report, the number of opposing votes is often seen as an indicator of the level of endorsement and popularity for a government leader or a top government agency.
Even the number of abstentions is seen as a subtle indicator of disapproval by carefully selected delegates to the elite assembly.
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For example, 378 delegates voted against Li’s first report as premier in 2014. Three years later, when he finished his first term as premier, 180 voted against his report. A small number of opposition votes was considered acceptable to the Communist Party.
The atmosphere at last year’s NPC was especially tense, as delegates cast their votes on whether to amend the constitution to remove the two-term limit for the president – allowing Xi Jinping to remain in the role, although as the party’s secretary general he would have been able to stay in power with or without the title.
On that occasion, careful consensus-building was carried out among delegates before they cast their votes on removing the term limit at the close of last year’s legislative meetings, or “two sessions”. Only two voted against, while three abstained – among the lowest such numbers in Communist Party history.
Unlike predecessors such as Zhu Rongji or even Wen Jiabao, Li is more an executor of Xi’s policies, and all of the limelight is usually given to Xi’s speeches and activities. Li himself as a leader does not have obvious support from the NPC delegates. His report represents overall government policies laid down by Xi.
When asked why there was not a single opposing vote on Li’s report, Hu Keming, deputy director of the NPC’s constitution and legal committee, smiled and said: “The reasons? You know well.”
He placed special emphasis on measures to help the economy through difficult times ahead. Unveiling his report at the opening of the two sessions on March 5, Li had said the government was preparing for tough battles, foreseeing “graver and more complex” risks and challenges, both “predictable and unpredictable”.
Li’s most eye-catching pledge was to cut the value-added tax (VAT) rate for manufacturers by 3 percentage points to 13 per cent, a significant reduction.
Li also pledged to help private companies – addressing a key concern for businesspeople – and to stabilise jobs, improve social services, and step up environmental protection and rural development.
Also presented to the NPC on Friday were the work reports from the supreme court and the top prosecutor. In the ballots on those, 156 and 71 delegates respectively voted against, while 67 and 71 abstained.
Five to 10 years ago it was common for up to 600 of the nearly 3,000 NPC delegates to vote against the two reports to show their disapproval of China’s rampant corruption. Since then, the number of opposing votes has dropped, falling below 200 last year.
But there remained some unhappiness among delegates about the performance of the Supreme People’s Court.
“Even though the supreme court has done a lot of work, it has not mentioned issues people are concerned about in the report,” he said. “For example, some court documents were lost – it disappoints people because it should be the symbol of justice and fairness.”
Additional reporting by Jane Cai