Li Keqiang

Li Keqiang was born in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to do manual agricultural labor in Fengyang County. Following the resumption of the Gaokao examinations in 1977, Li entered Peking University Law School, earning a bachelor's in law and a doctorate in economics, studying under prominent market-reform economist Li Yining.

Rising through the Communist Youth League under Hu Jintao, Li served as governor and Communist Party secretary of Henan and Liaoning provinces, where his pragmatic focus on railway cargo volume, electricity consumption, and bank loans inspired The Economist to coin the "Li Keqiang Index" as a benchmark of real economic activity. In March 2013, Li was appointed Premier of the State Council, heading China's government for a decade. As premier, he advocated for "Likonomics"—structural deleveraging, deregulation, reduction of red tape for small businesses, mass innovation, and social welfare expansion. Known for his candid acknowledgment of wealth disparity, he famously revealed in 2020 that 600 million Chinese lived on less than 1,000 yuan ($140) a month, underscoring his lifelong dedication to poverty alleviation.