Beijing - Mao Zedong's former secretary Li Rui, a bold critic of China's ruling Communist Party who spent a lifetime near the centre of elite politics, died Saturday at the age of 101, his family said.

Shanghai - Xi Jinping's tightening grip on China had already earned the leader comparisons to Mao Zedong, but they came into even sharper focus after the party paved the way for him to assume the presidency indefinitely.