Newspapers with the obituary of late former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the front page are displayed, at a newsstand in Beijing, China October 28, 2023.
REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) - China will cremate the remains of former Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday, when flags will fly at half mast across the country in mourning for an "outstanding" leader, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Li, a former economist and pro-reform leader who served as the premier for 10 years before retiring in March, died of a heart attack on Friday.
Li's death was a huge loss to the Communist Party and the nation, according to an official obituary posted by Xinhua last week.
But Li, once viewed as a Communist Party leadership contender, was sidelined in recent years, analysts and diplomats said, as President Xi Jinping tightened his grip on economic policymaking.
Persons:
Li Keqiang, Tingshu Wang, Li, Xi Jinping, Ryan Woo, Ethan Wang, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, Xinhua, CPC, Party, Chinese Communist Party, of, Communist Party, Thomson
Locations:
Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Shanghai