Li Keqiang was a Chinese economist and politician, who served as the premier of the People’s Republic of China from 2013 to 2023.
He was also the second-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2012 to 2022.
Li was a major part of the “fifth generation of Chinese leadership” along with Xi Jinping, the CCP general secretary.
Born in Hefei, Anhui province in 1955, Li initially rose through the ranks of Chinese politics through his involvement in the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), serving as its first secretary from 1993 to 1998.
From 1998 to 2004, Li served as the governor of Henan and the province’s party secretary.
From 2004 to 2007 he served as the Party Secretary of Liaoning, the top political office in the province.
From 2008 to 2013, Li served as the first-ranked vice premier under then-premier Wen Jiabao, overseeing a broad portfolio which included economic development, price controls, finance, climate change, and macroeconomic management.
Initially seen as a candidate for becoming the paramount leader, Li instead assumed the post of premier in 2013, and facilitated the Chinese government’s shifting of priorities from export-led growth to a greater focus on internal consumption.
During his term Li headed the State Council and was one of the leading figures behind China’s Financial and Economic Affairs, Foreign Affairs, National Security and Deepening Reforms.
Additionally, Li and his cabinet initiated the Made in China 2025 strategic plan in May 2015. He was succeeded as premier by Li Qiang in March 2023.
Given his Youth League experience, Li was generally considered a political ally of former leader Hu Jintao and a member of the Tuanpai faction.
Economically seen as advocating reform and liberalization, Li has been described as representing the more pragmatic and technocratic side of China’s leadership.
There has been speculation[by whom?] that Li may have been sidelined by Xi Jinping for reasons of power consolidation.
Who was Li Keqiang?
Li Keqiang was born on 1 July 1955 in Hefei, Anhui province. His father was a local official in Anhui.
Li graduated from Hefei No.8 Senior High School in 1974, during the Cultural Revolution, and was sent for rural labour in Fengyang County, Anhui, where he eventually joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1976 and made his way in becoming the party head of the local production team.
He was awarded the honor of Outstanding Individual in the Study of Mao Zedong Thought during this time
Li refused his father’s offer of grooming him for the local county’s party leadership and entered Peking University Law School, where he became the president of the university’s student council and later received a Bachelor of Laws in 1982.
After working for about six years, he returned to Peking University for graduate studies in 1988. He received a Master of Economics and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from Peking University in 1995.
His doctoral advisor was the prominent economist Li Yining (no relation). At the invitation of Li Yining, Li Keqiang’s doctoral dissertation review committee was composed of well-known Chinese economists and researchers.
Because of the high academic rigor of the committee, Li Keqiang postponed the defense of his dissertation by half a year.
Commented as being able to “withstand any kind of inspection” by his doctoral advisor, Li Keqiang’s doctoral dissertation, “On the ternary structure of Chinese economy,” published in 1991, was awarded the Sun Yefang Prize, China’s highest prize in economics, in 1996.
In 1982, Li became the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) secretary at Peking University.
He entered the top leadership of the national organization of the CYLC in 1983 as a member of its secretariat, and worked closely with former Party general secretary Hu Jintao, who also rose through the ranks of the CYLC, ever since.
Li became the organization’s first secretary in 1993 and served until 1998. In 1993, Li proposed the CYLC’s Youth Volunteers Operation, which recruits and channels volunteers intro educational, social, and environmental projects.
It is regarded as an important achievement of his tenure as CYLC first secretary. Li was a representative member of the first generation to have risen from the CYLC leadership.
Li is survived by his wife Cheng Hong, a professor of English, and their daughter.
Li Keqiang Net Worth
Li Keqiang’s net worth was estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million at the time of his death.
He earned his wealth through his various positions in the Chinese government. He also owned several properties in China.
Li Keqiang Death cause
Li Keqiang, the former premier of China, died of a heart attack on Friday. He was 68 years old.
State media said he had been “resting” in Shanghai when he suffered a sudden heart attack on Thursday.
He passed away ten minutes past midnight on Friday despite “all-out efforts” to revive him, state broadcaster CCTV said.
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