Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passed away due to a heart attack on Friday, less than a year after retiring from a decade in office, during which his status as a reformist leader had waned. He was 68 years old.
While he was once considered a prominent contender within the Communist Party’s leadership, Li had been gradually marginalized in recent years.
As an influential economist, he championed a more open market economy and promoted supply-side reforms, a strategy known as “Likonomics,” which was never fully realized.
“Comrade Li Keqiang, who had been resting in Shanghai in recent days, suffered a sudden heart attack on October 26. Despite all-out attempts to resuscitate him, he passed away in Shanghai at 12:10 AM on October 27,” reported the state broadcaster CCTV.
The news of Li’s passing triggered an outpouring of grief and disbelief on Chinese social media. Several government websites transitioned to black-and-white as a sign of official mourning. The Weibo microblogging platform even replaced its “like” button with a “mourn” icon shaped like a chrysanthemum.
Li had served as China’s premier and head of the country’s cabinet under President Xi Jinping for a decade before relinquishing all political roles in March.
