According to State Media, the Former Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang died 10 minutes past midnight on Friday aged 68 after suffering a sudden heart attack in Shanghai.
Keqiang, held the second highest-ranked position in China, though in recent years, he was widely isolated amongst China’s top leadership.
His death is being widely mourned on Chinese social media, with many expressing shock and grief – though comments on many posts appear to have been restricted.
Speaking on X formerly Twitter, Beijing-based political commentator, James M Zimmerman noted that Keqiang was viewed as a pragmatic leader and encouraged economic reform.
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"... in death, the bland former premier is remembered as a would-be reformer whose plans were ground down by Mr. Xi’s uncompromising opposition to market-based economic and social reform. At the very least, Mr. Li’s death will likely be seen by many inside China as another sign…
— James M Zimmerman (@jmzbeijing) October 27, 2023
Deaths of former Chinese leaders have triggered protests in the past. An outpouring of mourning during Jiang Zemin’s death last year was seen as a subtle criticism of President Xi.
Li was known as one of the smartest political figures of his generation.
He was accepted into the prestigious Peking University Law School soon after the universities were reopened following Mao’s Cultural Revolution during which millions of people are believed to have died.
He is best known outside of China for the Li Keqiang index, a term coined by The Economist as an informal measurement of China’s economic progress.
