Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passed away at the age of 68.
Chinese media reported that Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th, 18th and 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and former Premier of the State Council, was resting in Shanghai recently. He suffered a heart attack on October 26, 2023. All efforts to rescue him failed. Passed away in Shanghai at 0:10 on October 27 at the age of 68.
Li Keqiang, who holds a bachelor's degree in law and a Ph.D. in economics from Peking University, was once the youngest provincial party secretary of the Communist Party of China. He and Hu Jintao are both from Anhui. They also came from prestigious schools and stayed in school to work after graduation. Both of them lived in the poorest and backward areas in China. However, after multiple experiences under the arrangements of the CCP’s top leadership, Hu Jintao was once Li Keqiang’s immediate boss in the Communist Youth League.
Born in the poorest place in China, became Prime Minister of the State Council
Li Keqiang, a little man from the countryside of Anhui Province, has made his way to Zhongnanhai step by step. Throughout his political career, he has remained pragmatic, open-minded and steady.
When Li Keqiang became Premier of the State Council in 2013, many voices within the Chinese party and government criticized Wen Jiabao's tenure as a "lost decade" for China. Because Wen Jiabao keeps talking about reform, but he says more and does less. Before leaving office, it was revealed that his family billions of dollars in assets.
When Li Keqiang first took office, China's economy was still growing rapidly, but there were more and more problems: including official corruption, environmental pollution, the widening gap between rich and poor and urban and rural areas, excessive reliance on investment for growth, and large loans to state-owned enterprises. In addition, he had to deal with an overly rigid government system.
Li Keqiang came to power with an image of integrity. Li Keqiang once said, "To be honest in government, you should start with yourself. Only by being upright can you be upright. Now that you have held public office and served the public, you must give up the idea of getting rich." His wife, It’s Cheng Hong, a professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing. He probably has no political or business connections.
Xi and Li fighting?
The Economist previously reported that former Prime Minister Li Keqiang did not have a close relationship with Xi Jinping and was marginalized after taking office. Even so, the position of prime minister still gives Li Keqiang great influence, especially control over economic policy.
Li Keqiang constantly emphasizes the importance of the market economy and asks local officials to tell the truth. He is described by many as a pragmatic, simple, open and people-friendly politician. He said at the press conference of the two sessions in 2020 that China has "600 million low- and middle-income people and below, and their average monthly income is only about 1,000 yuan."
On the eve of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, rumors of a struggle between Xi and Li were rampant
Li Keqiang is a promoter of economic reform and, unlike Xi Jinping, has friendly relations with Westerners. In the years before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, many people speculated that Li Keqiang was vying for the position of president. Those who look forward to an easing of relations between China and the West and a reduction in the party’s economic interference will naturally want to see signs of Li Keqiang’s growing political strength.
At the 20th National Congress in October 2022, Li Keqiang was not elected as a new member of the Central Committee.
After retiring in March 2023, Li Keqiang did not appear in public for nearly half a year until he showed up to visit the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province at the end of August. At that time, he looked quite good.