Li endorsed as premier in NPC vote

Decree, pledge of allegiance follow; leaders of other key bodies are also approved

Li Keqiang was endorsed as premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on Sunday, with nearly 3,000 NPC deputies voting following his nomination by President Xi Jinping.

Li was officially appointed premier as Xi signed a presidential decree.

Deputies also endorsed Xu Qiliang and Zhang Youxia as vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission, and Wei Fenghe, Li Zuocheng, Miao Hua and Zhang Shengmin as commission members during the ongoing 13th National People's Congress.

Yang Xiaodu was elected director of the new National Supervisory Commission; Zhou Qiang was elected president of the Supreme People's Court; and Zhang Jun was elected procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. The deputies also elected members of the 13th NPC Standing Committee.

Li took an oath of allegiance to the country's fundamental law on Sunday.

"I pledge my allegiance to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China to safeguard the Constitution's authority, fulfill my legal obligations, be loyal to the country and the people, be committed and honest in my duty, accept the people's supervision and work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful," he said.

This is Li's second term in the post. In 2013, he became the seventh premier since the PRC was founded in 1949.

Li was born in 1955 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1976. He graduated from Peking University with law and economics degrees.

After working as a provincial leader in Henan and Liaoning provinces, he was elected to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2007 and appointed vice-premier in 2008.

He was re-elected to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2012 and 2017.

In the Government Work Report delivered on March 5, Li called on the people to rally even closer around the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core, and to be enterprising and work hard.

The new Central Military Commission vice-chairmen and members also pledged allegiance to the country's Constitution after being elected on Sunday.

Xu, born in March 1950, is currently a member of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee and vice-chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission. He holds the rank of general in the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

Zhang, born in July 1950, is currently a member of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee and vice-chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission. He holds the rank of general.

Xinhua