ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Friday he was “deeply saddened” by the demise of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang.
Li Keqiang died of a heart attack on Friday, barely seven months after retiring from a decade in office during which his reformist star had dimmed. He was 68.
Li was premier and head of China’s cabinet under President Xi Jinping for a decade until stepping down from all political positions in March.
PM Kakar described Li as a “a great friend of Pakistan.”
“Deeply saddened and shocked to learn about the sad demise of former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. He was a great friend of Pakistan,” he said on X. “We fondly remember his visit to Pakistan in 2013.”
Once viewed as a top Communist Party leadership contender, Li was sidelined in recent years. The elite economist supported a more open market economy, advocating supply-side reforms in an approach dubbed “Likonomics” that was never fully implemented.
Chinese social media experienced an outpouring of grief and shock on Friday, with some government websites going black-and-white in an official sign of mourning.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with Late Premier Li, his family and with the Chinese nation at this hour of grief,” PM Kakar added.
