China’s next premier?

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Lǐ Qiáng 李强 is poised to be China’s next premier after he pledged support for the country’s private sector in his first public appearance representing the State Council on Sunday, the strongest signal to date of a future for his role as Xi’s right-hand man.

• Although most observers of elite politics believe Li is a shoo-in, his new role will not be formally announced until the national People’s Congress set for March 2023.
• For more on Li and other officials who were promoted at the 20th Party Congress in October, listen to or read the transcript of this Sinica Podcast.

A Hong Kong court handed a five-year and nine-month prison sentence to Jimmy Lai (黎智英 Lí Zhìyīng) for fraud on Saturday, as authorities continue their legal campaign against the 75-year-old staunchly pro-democracy media tycoon.

• Lai is already serving 20 months for his role in unauthorized assemblies during the city’s 2019 protests, and is set to face further charges under the National Security Law, including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.

China had “in-depth and constructive” talks with U.S. envoys on Sunday and Monday, including discussions about Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wāng Wénbīn 汪文斌 said, in the latest follow-up by Beijing and Washington to ease bilateral tensions following Xi and Biden’s meeting at the Group of 20 summit in November.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against Trump-era import tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum for violating global trade rules, a decision that Beijing commended as “objective and fair” after lodging concurrent disputes at the organization with the European Union, Switzerland, and six other nations.

Washington imposed financial sanctions on two Chinese fishing fleet giants, Dalian Ocean Fishing and Nasdaq-listed Pingtan Marine Enterprise, on Friday for “serious human rights abuses” attributed to illegal fishing throughout the Pacific. It also targeted two individuals, Lǐ Zhènyǔ 李振宇 and Zhuō Xīnróng 卓新荣, for pulling the strings behind the networks that included the two companies.

• In a separate case also on Friday, the U.S. announced sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Tibet: Wú Yīngjié 吴英杰, the TAR Party secretary between 2016 and 2021, and Zhāng Hóngbō 张洪波, the director of the Tibetan Public Security Bureau (TPSB) since 2018.
• China said the move “gravely undermines” bilateral ties with the U.S. and urged Washington to withdraw the Tibet sanctions.

Electric vehicle sales to slow in 2023: According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales of electric vehicles in China will reach 9 million units in 2023, a year-on-year growth rate of 35%, but much slower than the 90.3% growth expected for 2022. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• Oil production breaches 200 million tons again.
• Increasing China-Europe rail trade.

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