China’s ceremonial legislature voted Sunday to approve Li Keqiang’s appointment as the country’s secondary leader of the ruling Communist party.
The largely rubber-stamp National People’s Congress voted 2,964 to two to approve Li’s appointment for a second five-year term as Chinese Premier.
“I pledge to be allegiant to the Constitution of the PRC, safeguard the Constitution’s authority, fulfill my legal obligations, be loyal to the country and the people, be committed and honest in my duty, accept the people’s supervision and work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful,” he said after taking an oath of allegiance, according to state news agency Xinhua.
China’s Premier traditionally serves as the country’s top economic official, but president Xi Jinping has stripped the post of its most prominent duties by appointing himself to lead party bodies that oversee economic reform and state industry.
The approval of Li’s appointment comes a day after Xi was reappointed as China’s president – this time with no limits on how many terms he can serve. The controversial amendment to scrap the two-term limit on the office of the president was approved last Sunday (March 12) along with 20 other changes.