Xi’s new vice-president a true Mr Fix-it
Beijing: Wang Qishan is known as China’s “Mr Fix-It”, a trustworthy official deployed to tackle the thorniest of crises – from crumbling banks to deadly illness to high-level corruption. Those who’ve met him describe him as bold and probing, a problem-solver who enjoys philosophical debates and has a wicked sense of humour.
As China’s vice-president, the 69-year-old Wang is expected to be a key element in furthering President Xi Jinping’s agenda of shoring up Communist Party rule while ending corruption and poverty.
Wang is known for integrity and competence, but his appointment on Saturday by the ceremonial legislature, in a pro-forma vote of 2,969 to 1, was widely regarded as unconventional.
To keep Wang past retirement age, Xi had him step down from the Politburo Standing Committee while ensconcing him in what had been a relatively meaningless ceremonial post.
That stands to diminish the influence of the others on the seven-member committee, including Xi’s rival, Premier Li Keqiang – ostensibly China’s second-most powerful official – particularly if Wang is handed important tasks giving him authority over their affairs.
“Definitely, this will further marginalise Li Keqiang,” said University of Miami Chinese politics expert June Teufel Dreyer.
“Having amassed so much power, it’s to be expected that Xi wants a lieutenant in whom he has complete trust.”
While Wang’s specific duties have yet to be spelled out, under China’s constitution, he would take over as head of state should Xi be
unable to fulfil his duties.
Tellingly, Wang has also been seen at events such as Saturday’s ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, seated in eighth place in the order of hierarchy, just after the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Wang shares aspects of Xi’s background, and the two appear very much in agreement on the need for firm party rule and strict discipline to guide China’s economic development.
In his career, Wang showed a particular talent for dealing with stricken state financial vehicles. In one notable triumph, he was praised for helping shield China from the aftershocks of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, after which he was named party secretary of the booming island province of Hainan.
His crisis-management skills were in demand again when a mystery respiratory illness was identified. During the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak, Wang was named mayor of Beijing, where he helped quell panic by ordering quarantines and daily public updates.
He is perhaps best known, however, for being Xi’s enforcer following his 2012 elevation to the Politburo Standing Committee, charged with carrying out a sweeping crackdown on corruption as head of the party’s watchdog body that has seen some 1.5 million party members punished, including life sentences for a former Politburo Standing Committee member and a top general.
Now in his new role, in addition to grappling with corruption, Wang is expected to capitalise on his experience leading regular exchanges with the US to help guide policy with Washington in the uncertain age of Trump. An early test may be his ability to head off a trade war with the US, said Beijing commentator Zhang Lifan.
“We know he is good at finance and the economy and regarded as a troubleshooter, but it is questionable,” Zhang said.
The removal of term limits that allows Xi to rule as long as he wishes will also allow Wang to be his vice-president indefinitely.
With no children and no political dynasty of his own to shape, Wang seems fully committed to being in the thick of Chinese politics.