It was a chance meeting. But it made the difference between life and possible death of a 2-year-old boy suffering from leukemia.

Li Rui is receiving treatment in Beijing Pediatric Hospital.

Just when lack of money had driven Li Guishu and Wang Zhihua to stop their son's treatment and return home to Hebei province on Monday, they heard a round of loud applause for someone at Tianjin railway station.

It was Premier Wen Jiabao whom passengers were applauding. The premier was returning to Beijing after an inspection trip in Tianjin, the Beijing Times said yesterday.

Yang Zhengkui, Li's brother-in-law, says he will never forget the scene. "The premier was shaking hands with the passengers. When he came to us, he asked what we were doing in Tianjian and I told him that the boy had an aggressive form of leukemia and we could not afford his treatment."

The child was sleeping in his mother's arms. Wen looked at him and enquired about the symptoms of the disease. He then held Yang's hand and said: "Come to Beijing, and I will make arrangements for his treatment."

Wang couldn't believe her ears, nor could she hold back her emotions. She knelt in front of the premier and kept saying "thank you" before Wen and other officials lifted her up.

All this while Li was away, buying yogurt for his son. He returned to see his wife visibly excited and saying repeatedly: "We met the premier, we met the premier".

"It was like in a dream All we knew was that our child had the hope of life," Li says.

On Wen's instruction, their son Li Rui was sent to Beijing Pediatric Hospital, where he underwent a thorough checkup on Monday. The boy had undergone an ECG test and CT scans by yesterday.

On Tuesday morning, several State Council staff members visited Li Rui, and handed over 15,000 yuan ($2190), including 10,000 donated by Wen, to his parents.

Doctors have promised to do all they can to save the child. Li, a farm worker from Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, is still at a loss of words. The only thing he says is: "I want to write a thank-you letter to the premier."