Story perspectives

Zhu Rongji, China’s Former Premier, Dies at 97

8/14/2026

Center

Zhu Rongji Dies

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji died of illness in Beijing on August 12, 2026, at age 97.
State media’s obituary highlighted his Party loyalty and credited him with steering China into the WTO, centralising tax collection and reforming state-owned enterprises.
Zhu was premier from 1998-2003 after serving as vice premier and People’s Bank governor.
His reforms cut state-owned enterprise employment from 77 million in 1995 to 42 million by 2003.

Left

Zhu Rongji Dies

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji died of illness in Beijing on August 12, 2026, at age 97.
His market-oriented reforms displaced tens of millions of workers, widened income inequality, and fueled public discontent.
He transferred tax collection to the central government, significantly curbing local fiscal autonomy.
His 1998 housing ownership scheme sparked a rapid real-estate boom that later collapsed, causing a crash.

Blindspot

The state media obituary reported that Zhu’s son, Levin Zhu, previously served as chief executive of China International Capital Corp.
Within this story's sources, this detail appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in overall Left-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In the 1990s, Premier Zhu Rongji and President Jiang Zemin pushed deep restructuring, cutting about 35 million state-owned-enterprise workers between 1995 and 2001 and reducing the State Planning Commission’s role in 1998. Their drive secured China’s entry into the World Trade Organization on 11 December 2001, prompting export-led growth, massive trade surpluses and the regulatory overhaul that reshaped China’s economy, setting the stage for later economic challenges.

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Zhu Rongji Dies

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji died of illness in Beijing on August 12, 2026, at age 97.
State media’s obituary highlighted his Party loyalty and credited him with steering China into the WTO, centralising tax collection and reforming state-owned enterprises.
Zhu was premier from 1998-2003 after serving as vice premier and People’s Bank governor.
His reforms cut state-owned enterprise employment from 77 million in 1995 to 42 million by 2003.

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