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 illn
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 have met him describe him as bold and probing, a problem solver who enjoys philosophical debates and has a “wicked sense of humor.”
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 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 marginalize Le 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 fulfill his duties. Unconfirmed reports also say he will be permitted to attend high-level meetings, including those of the Politburo Standing Committee, as a nonvoting observer.
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.
The two are believed to have first met while serving as “sent-down youths” in impoverished Shaanxi province during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. Wang, five years Xi’s senior, left first for university and later conducted research on 19th and 20th century Chinese history at a state academy.
