matters according to laws and rules. That really shows the government is paying heavy attention to building the legal system,” Niu said.
Xi, already the country’s overall leader since being named Communist Party general secretary in November, was installed in the largely ceremonial post of president during the 13-day session of the rubberstamp National People’s Congress that ended Sunday. Li, the party’s No. 2 leader, was named premier on Friday.
On Saturday, legislators endorsed the leadership’s slate of veteran technocrats – many with strong international experience – to staff a Cabinet charged with ensuring continued growth through government streamlining, increased consumption and a movement toward higher technology and less labor intensive industries.
They also need to guard against an overseas backlash against a more assertive foreign policy, cyber-hacking and years of scouring the world for resources, and Li sought to send a reassuring message on ties with U.S. – China’s most important overseas relationship.
“Like in the past, the new government in China attaches great importance to ties with the U.S.,” Li said. China acknowledges differences with Washington, but sees considerable room from growth in investment and trade that reached almost $500 billion last year, he said.
Among Saturday’s appointments was Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, who has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Paris and has worked in Europe and Africa. And the finance minister was Lou Jiwei, chairman of China’s multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund and a fixture in international financial circles. Zhou Xiaochuan, another prominent figure, 공주출장안마 was kept on as central bank governor.
Wang Yi, a career diplomat with experience working on North Korea and other knotty diplomatic issues, was named foreign minister, while head of the manned space program, Gen. Chang Wanquan, was named defense minister.
China’s economy is limping out of its deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis, and a dip in February consumer sales and factory output has spurred fears that the rebound might be faltering. Economic growth fell to 7.8 percent last year, China’s weakest performance since the 1990s.
Responsibility for the economy will largely fall to Li and vice premier in charge of economic affairs Wang Yang, a reformist ally of now-retired President Hu Jintao.
Also Saturday, in a sign of displeasure with severe pollution, the normally compliant National People’s Congress deputies cast an unusually high number of “no” votes for members of its environmental protection committee: 1,969 in favor to 850 opposed, with another 140 abstaining.
Sunday’s closing session was also enveloped in smog, with many schools canceling outdoor sports activities.
Before adjourning Sunday, the congress also approved this year’s budget, the Cabinet’s report on its work of the previous year, and plans the 2013. The newly appointed congress speaker Zhang Dejiang delivered remarks emphasizing the need for stronger legal protections for the country’s 1.3 billion people.
“To ensure people’s democratic rights, we must strengthen the rule of law and put democracy within institutional and legal frameworks,” he said.
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