Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang has died following a heart attack, Chinese state media reported on Friday.
“Li recently rested in Shanghai. On October 26, Li suffered a sudden heart attack and died at 00:10 on October 27 (16:10 GMT Thursday) after all life-saving measures failed. He died at the age of 68,” state news agency Xinhua reported.
Li Keqiang was replaced as premier by Li Qiang last March, five months after the Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress and after holding the post for 10 years.
The trained economist spoke fluent English and was an ardent advocate of economic reform. However, he saw his plans in this area hampered by the growing authority of President Xi Jinping.
He was praised for helping the country emerge from the global financial crisis relatively unscathed. But his mandate was also marked by the spectacular evolution of power in China, ranging from a consensus-based regime associated with former President Hu Jintao and his predecessors to the omnipotence of Xi Jinping.
His replacement last March by Li Qiang, a former Shanghai party leader and Xi ally, was seen as a sign that his reform agenda was no longer being implemented as the government tightens its grip on China’s faltering economy.
Li Keqiang entered politics as secretary of a Communist Party production brigade in 1976, the year of Mao’s death.
During the first years of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, he studied law at the renowned Peking University and later received a doctorate in rural economics.
Then, under the leadership of President Hu Jintao, he rose through the ranks of the Communist Youth League, the nursery of the cadres, and successively took over the leadership of the provinces of Henan (central), one of the country’s most populous, and Liaoning (northeast), an industrial stronghold.
When he ruled Henan from 1999 to 2003, authorities in that province systematically obstructed the work of nongovernmental organizations and journalists to shed light on a huge scandal involving blood contaminated by the AIDS virus.
Away from the cameras, however, Li had become known for his critical sense. In particular, a diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks in 2010 made it clear that he doubted the reliability of Chinese economic statistics.
Li Keqiang was considered competent but not very charismatic and became the CCP’s number two at the 18th Party Congress in 2012.