In the coming days, the Premier of China will be visiting New Zealand and Australia. This is significant although the role of Premier – nominally number two in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hierarchy – is not quite the import that some will make out. Much of the power is now deeply centralised in President Xi Jinping. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a positive sign in terms of our trading relationship to have Li Qiang here, but he holds little actual power as his predecessor found out.
