China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Li Xiaopeng resigns as the governor of Shanxi
Li Xiaopeng, the eldest son of former premier Li Peng, has resigned as governor of Shanxi province, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The Standing Committee of the Shanxi Provincial People's Congress said that Li’s resignation had been approved and Lou Yangsheng had been appointed as acting governor of Shanxi.
Li, 57, has eight years’ experience in Shanxi. Before starting his political career, he spent more than 20 years in the power industry and took senior positions at Huaneng, one of the country’s leading State-owned power firms.
In May 2008, Li was named a member of the Standing Committee of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. In less than a month, he had been named vice-governor.
In December 2012, he was named acting governor.
During his term as governor, the nationwide corruption crackdown swept through Shanxi, with several senior provincial officials falling from grace.
Yang Weidong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that a resignation usually means reassignment to another province.
“Or, Li will be appointed to a different position in the same province, but cannot double as governor anymore,” Yang said.
Li’s successor, Lou Yangsheng, 57, is a native of Pujiang, Zhejiang province. His political career has covered Zhejiang, Hainan, Hubei and Shanxi provinces. In June 2014, Lou was appointed deputy secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, a post he still holds.
He is expected to tackle a series of challenges that Shanxi has faced for many years, including industrial overcapacity
In January, 31 provinces and regions posted their GDP growth rates for last year, with Shanxi ranked last but one. The province’s GDP growth rate was the lowest since 1982.