He passed away ten minutes past midnight on Friday despite “all-out efforts” to revive him, state broadcaster CCTV said.
A trained economist, he was initially given the reins of China’s economy, but analysts said he became increasing sidelined towards the end of his career as Chinese President Xi Jinping gathered power around himself.
Li was seen to be aligned to former leader Hu Jintao, who was taken off stage at last year’s Party Congress on Mr Xi’s orders.
Li’s death is being widely mourned online, with one person on Chinese social media saying it was like losing “a pillar of our home”.
Li will be remembered for his strong economic track record but the end of his time in office was mired in China’s zero-Covid crisis.
But, when cadres had to choose between his order to protect the economy and Mr Xi’s to maintain zero-Covid with extreme discipline, it was no contest.
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