China’s ex-premier, Li Keqiang was married to his wife Cheng Hong for 4 decades, and the couple had one child together. Details about his family explored.
Li Keqiang, a prominent figure in China who served a reputable role as a politician and an economist in the country, has died aged 68.
Ranked by Forbes as China’s second-most powerful man, he died at 12:10 am on Friday while resting in Shanghai, China, according to Chinese state news outlet CCTV. According to state media reports, his cause of death is believed to be from a heart attack.
He often travels or hosts leaders to secure economic and security partnerships for his 1.4 billion constituents, per the publication.
Following his death, many want to know about his bereaved wife and children. Here’s everything we know about his personal life.
Who was Li Keqiang married to?
Years into his political career, Li Keqiang found a woman who would become his wife. He was married to a high-profile woman named Cheng Hong.
Keqiang and Hong tied the knot in 1983 when the politician was 28 years old and his spouse was 26.
At the time of their nuptial, Keqiang had become the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) secretary at Peking University entered the top leadership of the national organization of the CYLC as a member of its secretariat, and worked closely with former Party general secretary Hu Jintao.
Cheng and Li reportedly met while both were in the university at Tsinghua University. They started as friends and then began dating and years later became an inseparable pair as they tied the knot somewhere in China.
Cheng accomplished academic is considered China’s No 1 authority on US writing on the natural world.
A quiet and effective figure, Cheng often accompanied her husband on official overseas visits.
They were together until his passing in 2023. Before that, they were also parents.
Who is Cheng Hong?
Cheng Hong is famous as the spouse of late China’s ex-premier, Li Keqiang.
She was born in 1957, in Zhengzhou, China.
By profession, the 66-year-old is a professor of English Language and Literature (especially American Naturalism) at the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing.
Her father was once the deputy secretary of the Communist Youth League Central Committee. He spoke conversational English, per TimesNowNews.
Cheng began her educational journey at Zhengzhou No. 7 Middle School and later earned a place at the PLA College of Foreign Languages. She also went to Tsinghua University, where she obtained her degree.
Cheng Hong also ventured to the United States as a scholar, specifically at Brown University in Rhode Island, in 1995. Her career included teaching at the Beijing Institute of Economics (Capital University of Economics and Business).
Notably, as of 2012, Cheng Hong had authored two books on American nature writing and translated several English books into Chinese.
How many children did Li Keqiang have?
Before Li Keqiang died aged 68 in October 2023, he was a father and a proud one.
He reportedly had one daughter whose name has never been disclosed publicly.
Also, other details about her, including her educational background, career, age, and other personal information, are unknown.
However, she is believed to be living in the United States, where she schooled.
Sources suggest that she obtained her undergraduate degree from Peking University and pursued further studies in the United States.
What is known about Li Keqiang’s family?
Li Keqiang was born on 1 July 1955 in Hefei, Anhui province.
While his parents’ names are unknown, his father was a local official in Anhui.
Li refused his father’s offer of grooming him for the local county’s party leadership and entered Peking University Law School, where he became the president of the university’s student council and later received a Bachelor of Laws in 1982.
Li graduated from Hefei No.8 Senior High School in 1974, during the Cultural Revolution, and was sent for rural labor in Fengyang County, Anhui, where he eventually joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1976 and made his way becoming the party head of the local production team. He was awarded the honor of Outstanding Individual in the Study of Mao Zedong Thought during this time.