in Liaoning in December 2004, taking on the top political office of the province. There he is known for the "Five-points to one Line" project, where he linked up Dalian and Dandong, as well as a series of other ports into a comprehensive network to improve trade flow. With his Youth League experience and his association with then paramount leader Hu Jintao, Li was seen from early on in Hu's term as a contender to succeed Hu when his term as party leader ends in 2012. Li gained membership to the Politburo Standing Committee at 17th Party Congress held in October 2007. He was succeeded in his provincial party secretary post by governor Zhang Wenyue. While Li's political future seemed promising, he was outranked on the Standing Committee by Xi Jinping, who had just left his role as party secretary of Shanghai to join the central leadership ranks in Beijing. This rank order ostensibly signaled that it would be Xi, not Li, who would eventually succeed Hu as party general secretary and president. At the 2008 National People's Congress, Li was elected vice premier, first in rank, reinforcing the speculation that Li would become premier and was being groomed to succeed then-premier Wen Jiabao. Vice Premiership (2008–2013) During his first term in the PSC between 2007 and 2012, Li took on the most important portfolios in the Chinese government, including economic development, government budgets, land and resources, the environment, and health, ostensibly to prepare him for his upcoming premiership. He also became the head of central commissions overseeing the Three Gorges Dam and the South-North Water Transfer Project, as well as the leader of steering committees in charge of health care reform, food safety, and AIDS-related work. In addition, Li was the principal lieutenant to premier Wen Jiabao in the broad portfolios of climate change, energy, information technology, northeastern China revitalization, and developing the Chinese far west. Li's first major appearance internationally was at the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The event was seen as a litmus test for Li. At the forum, Li succinctly presented China's long-term vision for development in front of world business and political leaders. In particular, Li briefed the WEF on China's commitment to sustainable development, green energy, decreasing the income gap and modernizing key strategic industries. While reiterating Beijing's commitment to peaceful development and its focus in increasing domestic demand in the