Li Keqiang, China’s former premier, dies suddenly at 68

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Li Keqiang, China’s former premier and a onetime rival to President Xi Jinping, has died aged 68, state media reported on Friday.

The senior Communist party figure, who until March was the head of Xi’s cabinet and led economic policy, suffered a sudden heart attack on Thursday, Xinhua said.

He was in Shanghai and died 10 minutes after midnight on Friday morning after efforts to save him failed, it added.

Xinhua said an “obituary will be issued later”, signalling that the party planned to pay respects to the former leader.

This is a developing story