[1/4] China's newly-elected Premier Li Qiang takes an oath after being elected during the fourth plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on March 11, 2023.
Previously the Communist Party chief in Shanghai, Li was confirmed as premier during the National People's Congress, charged with managing the world's second largest economy.
"Officials know that Li Qiang is Xi Jinping's guy," he said.
"He clearly thinks that Li Qiang is a very competent person and he has put him in this position because he trusts him and he expects a lot of him."
American author Robert Lawrence Kuhn, who met Li and Xi together in 2005 and 2006, said the two shared an easy rapport.