His
4. Li's party status wa: en laced when he joined the Central Committee in 1982. er his appointment as a Vice-Premier in 1983 he was widely recognised as a leading candidate to succeed Zhao Ziyang as Premier. politial standing was correspondingly raised in 1985 by his appointment to the Party Central Committee's Politburo and Secretariat.
Li's excellent political connections must have helped his steady rise in the political hierarchy. But he has served his apprenticeship in industry and has proved his ability at all levels of the government administration. He has probably succeeded on merit. As a relatively young technocrat (he has also studied computer languages and programming) he also meets the current criteria for advancement. He seems assured of considerable influence for the foreseeable future, whether or not he eventually becomes Premier. Li has a reputation for being practical and open minded, with a good grasp of detail and a dry wit. 6.
He would not have been brought along so quickly since 1979 without fully supporting the reformist strategy of Deng Xiaoping. There is however some speculation that he may be more cautious about the pace and scope of reform than are some others. Li is among a growing number of people now coming into influential positions who studied in the USSR in the 1950s. This economic experience is therefore rooted in Soviet style centralism. Politically, it is rumoured that he also favours more rapid progress in Sino-Soviet relations and may even have been rebuked for being too forthcoming in his two meetings with Gorbachev in 1985.
His wife
His
7.
Li is married with two sons and a daughter. and children also work in the electric power sector. hobbies are reported to be reading and cooking Sichuan-style food. He has travelled abroad frequently over recent years. Since his visit to Britain (and France) in 1982, he has visited the United States twice (1985 and 1986), the USSR twice, most Eastern European countries, North Korea, Canada, West Germany, Japan and several African countries. Li speaks fluent Russian and some English.
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