Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang dies at 68
Li retired in March after serving as the premier and head of the country’s Cabinet under President Xi Jinping for a decade.
Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack at the age of 68 on Friday, reported the BBC.
“Comrade Li Keqiang, while resting in Shanghai in recent days, experienced a sudden heart attack on October 26 and after all-out efforts to revive him failed, died in Shanghai at 10 minutes past midnight on October 27,” Reuters reported citing state broadcaster CCTV.
Li retired in March after serving as the premier and head of China’s Cabinet under President Xi Jinping for a decade.
Born in Anhui province in eastern China, Li came from a poor farming area. The Peking University-educated economist rose among the ranks of the Communist Party of China, becoming the youngest provincial governor in the country. He later secured a place in the top ranks of the party’s central leadership at the Politburo Standing Committee.
Li was appointed the country’s premier in March 2013. He was known for his “Likonomics” that supported structural reform and debt reduction in economic policies to reduce China’s dependency on debt-driven growth.
