Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang dies

Li Keqiang led the Chinese government from 2013 to March 2023. The politician was on vacation in Shanghai; on Friday night he died of a heart attack Li Keqiang

Former Premier of the State Council of CHINA (the country's highest executive body) Li Keqiang has died at the age of 68, China's central television CCTV reports.

Xinhua Agency reports that Li Keqiang was on vacation in Shanghai. On October 26, the politician had a heart attack. Doctors tried to save him, but the next day - October 27 at 0:10 local time (October 26 at 19:10 Moscow time) he died.

Li Keqiang was appointed premier of the State Council of China in March 2013, and in 2018 he was re-elected as HEAD of government for a second five-year term. In March 2023, he left his position and was replaced by Li Qiang, who last fall was added to the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the ruling Communist Party (Li Keqiang was not included in the new composition of the Communist Party Central Committee at that time). Li Qiang's candidacy was nominated by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who was previously re-elected to a third term for the first time in the country's history.

The BBC writes that before his resignation, Li Keqiang was the second most influential person in the Communist Party. Having headed the government, he called his main task the solution of a complex of socio-economic issues, such as unemployment, the difference in income of the urban and rural population, and the urbanization of the country. An economist by training, he was responsible for reforms in this area, and also warned about the problems facing the economy due to strict restrictions imposed in connection with the covid-19 pandemic , recalls CNN.

BLOOMBERG notes that Li Keqiang's role in resolving economic issues has diminished in recent years after Xi Jinping handed them over to a number of party committees headed by the Chinese leader himself and his adviser Liu He.

As Vice Premier (2008–2013), Li Keqiang, in addition to economics, oversaw energy, construction and healthcare issues. Before joining the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 2007, the politician held various leadership positions in Henan and Liaoning provinces.

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