China’s former Premier, Li Keqiang, passed away from a heart attack at the age of 68, just 10 months after retiring from a decade in office. During his time in leadership, Li’s reputation as a reformist dimmed, as he was sidelined by President Xi Jinping, who consolidated power and shifted China’s economy toward greater state control.
Li, once considered a top contender for leadership within the Communist Party, had advocated for a more open market economy and supply-side reforms, often referred to as “Likonomics.” However, these reforms were never fully realized, as President Xi’s preference for state control gained prominence. Xi installed his own allies in powerful positions, diminishing Li’s influence.
State broadcaster CCTV reported Li’s sudden heart attack, which occurred while he was in Shanghai. The news prompted an outpouring of grief and shock on Chinese social media, with some government websites adopting a black-and-white theme as an official sign of mourning. The Weibo microblogging platform replaced its “like” button with a “mourn” icon shaped like a chrysanthemum flower.
Li served as premier and head of China’s cabinet under Xi for a decade before stepping down from all political positions in March. In August 2022, he made a notable speech at a statue of Deng Xiaoping, the leader who introduced transformative economic reforms to China. In that speech, Li pledged to continue reform and opening up, a statement widely interpreted as a coded criticism of Xi’s policies.
Li’s legacy also includes sparking discussions on poverty and income inequality in China in 2020 when he noted that 600 million people in the country earned less than the equivalent of $140 per month.
