Observers have noted that in his Work Report presented to the ongoing NPC session, Premier Li Keqiang incorporated a lot of praise for Chinese President Xi Jinping. He began his speech by giving credit to “the firm leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China headed by General Secretary Xi Jinping”. Discussing foreign relations, he attributed the success of Chinese diplomacy to the personal intervention of President Xi, who, along with other leaders, “had visited many countries”. Li Keqiang also credited the government’s achievements to “the overall planning and sound policymaking of the party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary”. Most unusual though was the exhortation to the Chinese people to “put into practice the guiding principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s major speeches” and Li Keqiang concluding his address with a call urging everyone to “rally closely around the party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary” so as to realize this year’s objectives and achieve “the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”.

 

(Comment: Such effusive praise for the Party leader has not been seen in China since the death of Chairman Mao Zedong almost four decades ago. For example, in his Work Report in 2013 Premier Wen Jiabao did not once mention Hu Jintao’s name. He gave credit to the Communist Party’s leadership, but he did not mention the name of the General Secretary.)