Li Keqiang, China’s new premier, made clear at his first official news conference that he is committed to the cause of reform. He mentioned the word 28 times as he laid out his vision of smaller government, a tougher stance on corruption and a fairer distribution of wealth.
That Mr Li is a reformer is hardly remarkable. In the 35 years since Deng Xiaoping launched China’s “reform and opening up” strategy and left Maoism behind, Chinese leaders have pushed for economic, social and even political reforms.
The key question is not whether a Chinese leader is a reformer – but rather what kind of reformer he or she is.
The contrast between Mr Li’s programme and that of Wen Jiabao, his predecessor, is illuminating. Mr Li’s agenda, which he outlined at the end of China’s annual parliament on Sunday, is more limited and more singular in its focus on economics. It also appears to be more concrete and therefore more achievable.
In his final years as premier, Mr Wen spoke of the urgency of transforming the Chinese political system. Although he never described in detail what changes were needed, his calls for fundamental reform to the leadership structure were seen as a thinly-veiled push for more democratic ways of selecting officials.
Mr Li made no direct mention of political overhaul. Instead, he emphasised one of his favourite themes: that China’s economy can reap a growth “dividend” from enacting deeper market reforms.
“There is great space for further unleashing productivity through reform and there is great potential to make sure the benefits of reforms will reach the entire population,” he said.
On the surface it was a more conservative message than Mr Wen’s appeal at the close of China’s annual parliament exactly one year ago. Without political structural reforms, Mr Wen said at the time, China’s recent economic gains might slip away.
Mr Wen never succeeded in bringing about political change. Some of his more strident speeches about the need for a new politics were even censored by state media.
If Mr Li is setting the bar lower, he is also being more realistic, says Yang Dali, faculty director of the University of Chicago Center in Beijing.
“There is a recognition that you want to reform but reform can be a very dangerous moment and so you want to lower expectations about political reform,” Mr Yang says. “Mr Li’s focus is very much within the parameters of the economy and society.”
Mr Li made a series of reform proposals that came with measurable benchmarks for assessing his success.
In the legal arena, while making a vague commitment that the law must rank above all people, he made a specific pledge to announce a reform programme for the country’s controversial labour camp detention system by the end of this year.
Addressing complaints that the government has become too powerful, he vowed to cut by one-third the number of things that require cabinet approval. He also promised to lower the civil service payroll and said that official budgets for travel and vehicles would be cut.
China’s political system is designed to preserve the continuity of Communist party rule, so it is unsurprising that there will also be many similarities between Mr Li’s premiership and that of Mr Wen.
Under Mr Wen, China made big strides in building up its social security system, extending basic pensions, welfare payments and medical insurance to the majority of the country’s citizens. Expanding these social programmes is the core of Mr Li’s plan for narrowing the gaping wealth gap.
Mr Li at one point referred to Mr Wen directly, expressing gratitude to him for laying a strong foundation for his administration.
More telling, though, was his indirect reference to Mr Wen’s legacy of promising significant political changes and failing to deliver.
“We will follow talk with action. What we say we will do, we will do,” Mr Li said.
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