Chinese premier renews call for economic dynamos to help stabilise road to post-Covid recovery

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the southern tech hub of Shenzhen on Tuesday to again call on some of the country’s most dynamic areas to “shoulder greater responsibility” in stabilising the sluggish economy.

The trip to the province of Guangdong comes ahead a Politburo meeting at the end of this month, where the Communist Party’s inner circle will discuss the biggest challenges facing the country.

Analysts said the trip could be a fact-finding mission for the meeting amid worrying signs of economic cooling.

In a meeting in person with leaders from Guangdong and via video link with provincial chiefs from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan, Li said authorities should make full use of government policies and safeguard market drivers to stabilise the economy and ensure employment for migrant workers. The efforts would also help boost government revenue, he said.

The call came a month after a similar meeting in which Li urged the leaders of five of the most affluent provinces to “exhaust all possible means” to stabilise production and jobs as China reached a “critical point” in its economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.