Hundreds of mourners lay flowers at late Premier’s Li Keqiang’s childhood residence in eastern China

HONG KONG — Hundreds of mourners lined the streets and laid flowers near former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s childhood residence on Saturday, a day after he died of a heart attack. Li, 68, was China’s top economic official for a decade, helping navigate the world’s second-largest economy through challenges such as rising political, economic and military tensions with the United States and the COVID-19 pandemic. The two never formed anything like the partnership that characterized Hu’s relationship with his premier, Wen Jiabao — or Mao Zedong’s with the redoubtable Zhou Enlai — although Li and Xi never openly disagreed over fundamentals. His departure marked a shift away from the skilled technocrats who have helped steer China’s economy in favor of officials known mainly for their unquestioned loyalty to Xi.