Li Hongzhang was seen as very progressive by Westerners. When he visited New York in 1896, he was asked whether or not he supported education for the common people, to which he replied:

"Our custom is to send all our boys to public schools. We have good schools all over China, but only those who can afford it send their boys to them. The poorer classes do not give their boys education. We have not so many schools or colleges as you have, but we are going to introduce more schools throughout our country."

On female education:

"Our Chinese girls are educated at home, by their governesses. Governesses are in all families that can afford them. We have no no schools for the girls, and have no higher educational institutions which they can attend. This is due to the fact that our customs are so different from yours, both in Europe and America. Perhaps we should study both systems and adopt the best one suited to us and our needs."

You can read the full interview here.

So Li was seen as a pro-Western reformer, and this view was solidified during the Boxer Rebellion when Li led the regional Viceroys in opposing Cixi's edict to go to war with the Europeans. There are some who believe that Li even sabotaged the Boxers to make sure they fail. Before he resigned in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War, he was in charge of all dealings with Westerners and was a very capable diplomat.

Ito Hirobumi, the great Japanese statesman who was Li Hongzhang's Japanese counterpart, had this to say, "If you were me, you would do better than me in Japan. If I were you, I might not do better than you in China."

Many Japanese consider Li Hongzhang to be on par with the reformers of the bakumatsu period and the Meiji Restoration and greatly respected him.

Yuan Shikai was Li Hongzhang's protege and basically built his own reputation on Li Hongzhang's legacy.