Former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack at 68. Li, who served as China's second-ranking leader from 2013 to 23 and an advocate for private business, was left with little power after President Xi Jinping established himself as the country's most powerful leader in decades and tightened control over the country's economy and society.

According to CCTV, Li was in Shanghai recently and had a heart attack on Thursday. He died at 12:10 AM on Friday, reported the news agency AP.

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Li, an English-speaking economist, was a front-runner to replace Hu Jintao as head of the Communist Party in 2013, but Xi was chosen instead. Xi consolidated authority in his own hands, reversing the consensus-oriented leadership of the Hu era and giving Li and other members of the ruling seven-member Standing Committee minimal sway.

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As the head of the economy, Li pledged to support business owners who create wealth and jobs. However, the ruling party under Xi increased the dominance of state industry and tightened control over tech and other industries. Foreign companies expressed dissatisfaction after Xi and other leaders called for economic self-reliance, expanded an anti-spying law and conducted searches in the 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.

Li was born July 1, 1955, in the eastern province of Anhui and by 1976 was ruling party secretary of a commune there. After serving in a series of party posts, Li received his Ph.D. in economics in 1994 from Peking University.

(With inputs from AP)