Foreign Media Highlight Former Premier Li Keqiang's Death: "The Second-in-Command Who Lost Power Under Xi Jinping"

Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Following the death of former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang from a heart attack on the 27th, Western media outlets reported the news as a major story and highlighted his life. Foreign media focused on Li's principled actions as the second-in-command and his loss of influence under President Xi Jinping's one-man leadership system.

Foreign media assessed that Li, an elite economist who studied at Peking University, was a figure who spoke frankly about economic issues, including expressing distrust in China's past GDP figures. They also reported that although he gained popularity for his rational and pragmatic economic policies, he lost power due to President Xi's consolidation of one-man rule and controlling policies.

British broadcaster BBC stated that Li "gained a reputation as a leader working for the less privileged through policies focused on reducing wealth disparity and providing affordable housing," and that "although ultimately sidelined by President Xi, he was a popular leader in terms of economic pragmatism."

They also pointed out that he was "the only current senior official not belonging to the group loyal to President Xi" and "had been isolated among China's top leaders in recent years."

The U.S. Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that "Li's rational policy decisions softened the sharp edges of Xi Jinping's politicized governance but ultimately had limited impact," noting that Li's achievements, such as drastically shortening business registration periods to eliminate bureaucracy, were undermined by Xi's anti-business policies.

CNN reported that Li was seen as a figure representing a different approach between China and Western countries during a time of increasingly strained relations, highlighting an anecdote from a March 2021 press conference where Li responded with the sentiment that "China and the United States should expand their common interests."

Foreign media also noted that Chinese authorities downplayed Li's death and censored related content on the internet.

BBC stated, "Chinese state media, including Xinhua News Agency, are downplaying the news of Li's death by not using the official honorifics that reflect the Communist Party's evaluation of his career."

WSJ also reported that comments related to Li's death appear to be censored on social media platforms such as Weibo, and noted that in the past, public mourning for the deaths of senior Chinese officials has sometimes escalated into large-scale protests targeting local leaders.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.