Chinese leader Xi Jinping reportedly intends to have a confidant he’s known for decades become the country’s next vice premier, while Xi himself expects to enter his third tenure during the 20th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that occurs later this year. On March 11, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang revealed at a press conference that he will leave office upon completion of his second term as premier. On the same day, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Chinese official was “the leading candidate for a promotion to vice-premier” in charge of economics, finance, science and technology, and industrial affairs, which are currently overseen by vice-premier Liu He. The appointment “would ensure his [Xi’s] control over an ambitious effort to remold the world’s second-largest economy,” the report said. The official, identified as He Lifeng, is currently the director of China’s top economic reform body—the National Development and Reform Commission. …