Image source, Getty Images
Lee rose through the party ranks despite having no power base
Former Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang has died at the age of 68, state media reported.
He was the second most powerful man in China’s ruling Communist Party until his retirement last year.
State media said he was “resting” in Shanghai when he suffered a sudden heart attack on Thursday.
State broadcaster CCTV said he died ten minutes after midnight on Friday despite “all-out efforts” to revive him.
Lee rose through the party’s ranks despite having no power base, and at one point was appointed to the top job of president.
A trained economist, he was initially given the reins of China’s economy, but analysts said he became increasingly sidelined toward the end of his career as Chinese President Xi Jinping consolidated power around him.
In his last term, he became the only senior official who did not belong to the group loyal to President Xi.
Li was seen as allied with former leader Hu Jintao, who was removed from the stage at a party congress last year on Mr. Xi’s orders.
As he was led away, he patted Li Keqiang on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, and the Premier nodded back.
Li’s death was widely mourned online, with one person on Chinese social media saying it was like losing “one of the pillars of our home.”
The Peking University-educated elitist leader was known for being pragmatic in economic policy, with policies focused on reducing the wealth gap and providing affordable housing.
Li will be remembered for his strong economic record, but the end of his time in office was mired in China’s COVID-19 crisis.
During the worst of times, he said the economy was under enormous pressure and called on officials to be cautious and not allow restrictions to crush growth. He even appeared without a mask in public before China lifted its coronavirus eradication policy.
But when the cadres had to choose between his order to protect the economy and Xi Jinping’s order to maintain zero level of coronavirus with extreme discipline, it was not a moot point.
“He was a very enthusiastic and outgoing man, who strove to move China forward and facilitate open dialogue with people from all walks of life,” Bert Hoffman, a professor at the National University of Singapore, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”