China's Li Seen as Unlikely to Lose Premier's Job After All

  • Party’s No. 2 has been vocal advocate for economic overhaul
  • Questions linger over his influence as Xi consolidates power

Li Keqiang, China's premier.

Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s fortunes appear to be looking up.

For years, talk among people in Beijing indicated that he might take a different post. President Xi Jinping had taken key roles in running the economy away from Li, a trained economist, and a stock market rout in 2015 damaged his push for market forces to play a “decisive role” in allocating resources.