BEIJING — Four years before Li Qiang gained notoriety as the force behind the two-month COVID lockdown of Shanghai, the man set to become China's next premier worked quietly behind the scenes to drive a bold revamp of the megacity's sclerotic stock market. Li's back-channelling – sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which lost some of its power under the new set-up – demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with President Xi Jinping.

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