China: Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has died after suffering a heart attack, AFP quoted state media.

Li Kepiang was number 2 after Chinese President Xi Jinping but left with little authority after Jinping emerged as the most powerful leader in the country. 

China’s CCTV said Li Kepiang was in Shanghai when he suffered a heart attack on Thursday midnight around 12:10 AM.

Li Kepiang was also the contender to succeed then-Communist Party leader Hu Jintao in 2013 but things happened in the favour of Xi, who centralised powers in his hand.

As the top economic official, Li promised to improve conditions for entrepreneurs who generate jobs and wealth. But the ruling party under Xi increased the dominance of state industry and tightened control over tech and other industries.

Foreign companies said they felt unwelcome after Xi and other leaders called for economic self-reliance, expanded an anti-spying law and raided offices of consulting firms.

Li was dropped from the Standing Committee at a party congress in October 2022 despite being two years below the informal retirement age of 70.

The same day, Xi awarded himself a third five-year term as party leader, discarding a tradition under which his predecessors stepped down after 10 years.

Xi filled the top party ranks with loyalists, ending the era of consensus leadership and possibly making himself leader for life. The No.2 slot was filled by Li Qiang, the party secretary for Shanghai, who lacked Li Keqiang’s national-level experience and later told reporters that his job was to do whatever Xi decided.

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