[Meanwhile] Death of the two-horse carriage system

The two-leader system in Chinese leadership has ended.

YOU SANG-CHULThe author is the head of the China Institute of the JoongAng Ilbo. In China, the general secretary of the Communist Party, the most powerful position, is led by a stern father figure. He emphasizes discipline and leads the purge. But there is always a yin for a yang. The person who plays the role of a warm mother is the premier of the State Council.

The party and the government supplement each other to maintain balance. That’s why the Chinese leadership is called a two-horse carriage. Notably, Zhou Enlai was the premier during the time of Mao Zedong.

Even in the midst of the craziness of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Zhou struggled to minimize the damage. The prime minister’s authority was not so small. Even at the peak of Mao’s power, Zhou dominated the intelligence network in the party and foreign policy and unification front work as well as economic authorities.

When Hu Yaobang was the general secretary, Zhao Ziyang was the premier. The pair was called the Hu-Zhao system. During Jiang Zemin’s term, Zhou Rongji was an outstanding premier. The pair were called the Jiang-Zhou system.

When President Kim Dae-jung visited China in 1998, Jiang Zemin even told him he should consult Zhou Rongji about the Korea-China economic cooperation issue. In China, the premier is the No. 1 person overseeing the economy. Premier Wen Jiabao visited sites in worn sneakers and an old jacket, touching many Chinese hearts, whether it was a political show or not. The supplementary system has become solid.

When Xi Jinping took power, the “Xi-Li system” was mentioned, but only for a while. Premier Li Keqiang lost much of his economic authority to Xi. Many parts of the State Council under Li were absorbed by Xi’s central party. As Li’s presence largely disappeared, he was considered a weak premier.

Now, Li Qiang has replaced Li Keqiang. Many predict he will be the weakest premier ever. Li Qiang had been practically a butler to Xi when he was the party secretary general of Zhejiang’s Provincial Party Committee while Xi was Zhejiang’s party secretary.

A secretary serves the ruler. Moreover, Xi was the one who has been behind Li’s rise. How could he share power with Xi equally? It is too much to expect. Now, some say that the State Council under the premier will turn into a mere “office” of the party.

The two-leader system in Chinese leadership has ended. What Li Keqiang said as he departed left a long lingering feeling: “The heaven is watching what people do. Even the blue sky has eyes.”