The National People Congress (NPC) on Saturday elected Li Qiang as the country’s new premier during a plenary session.

A total of 2,936 of the 2,947 members present at the meeting in the Great Hall of the People voted yes, with three voting against and eight abstentions.

Li Qiang, who was nominated by President Xi Jinping, will replace Li Keqiang as the nation's second-in-command.

Li, 63, was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the former Communist Party chief of Shanghai.

He served as Xi’s chief of staff between 2004 and 2007, when the president was provincial party secretary of eastern China’s Zhejiang province.

During the same session, Zhang Youxia and He Weidong were chosen as vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission.

Liu Jinguo was elected director of the National Commission of Supervision. Zhang Jun was elected president of the Supreme People's Court, and Ying Yong was elected procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Meanwhile, DAB chairwoman Starry Lee was elected as Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the NPC Standing Committee with 2,901 votes.

She will take up the seat vacated by her party colleague, Tam Yiu-chung.