Li Keqiang, who has died aged 68 of a heart attack, was the premier of the People’s Republic of China from 2013 to March 2023. Regarded as a reformist economist, in the decade before his appointment he had figured in many lists of those most likely to be the prime leader of the country after the expected retirement of Hu Jintao. But the final decade of Li’s career was mostly spent in the shadow of the man who eventually prevailed over him, Xi Jinping. Despite this, domestically and internationally he was regarded as a popular figure, and news of his unexpected death was met with respectful comments on Chinese social media.
As premier, Li was the epitome of the loyal, faithful supporter of the main leader. He never dissented publicly from the positions adopted under Xi, who as party secretary and president outranked him. In the early years of his central career, however, he had been supportive of policies which allowed more space to the non-state sector, and which supported further marketisation. As a vice premier in charge of economic affairs from 2007 to 2012, he referred to the need for the country to open up more spaces for growth, through developing its healthcare sector and building better quality infrastructure. He supported a key report issued by the thinktank within the National Development and Reform Commission ministry in 2012 which served as a blueprint for bolder reform. This was co-issued in partnership with the World Bank, and typified an era when Chinese and foreigners were able to collaborate and openly debate ideas about domestic reform.
