Li Changchun, a senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), arrived home from overseas visits Saturday ahead of schedule due to a strong earthquake in northwest China.

Li, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, has postponed his visits to Saudi Arabia, Romania, Ireland and Montenegro after concluding trips to Turkey and Germany.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake, which rocked the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai Province on Wednesday, has killed at least 1,144 people and left 417 missing and 11,744 others injured.

To deal with the devastating earthquake in Qinghai, Chinese President Hu Jintao shortened his trip to South America, postponing visits to Venezuela and Chile originally scheduled for this week, while Premier Wen Jiabao delayed his visits to Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar scheduled for April 22-25.