Ex-Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, architect of growth, dies of illness at 97
BEIJING — Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has died, according to state media. The impatient, sharp-tongued reformer helped ignite China’s explosive economic boom by forcing wrenching change on state industry in the 1990s and leading the country into the World Trade Organization. The official Xinhua news agency reported that Zhu died of illness in Beijing at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. He was…
Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, a key architect of the country's rapid economic growth, has died at the age of 97 due to illness, according to state media. Zhu played a pivotal role in spearheading reforms that transformed China's state-owned industries and propelled the nation into the World Trade Organization. He served as premier from 1998 to 2003, implementing sweeping changes aimed at making state-owned enterprises more efficient and profitable.
These reforms, which included millions of job losses, were met with resistance from conservative members of the Communist Party and industrial leaders. Nonetheless, Zhu's efforts helped China surpass Japan to become the world's second-largest economy in 2010. His legacy is rooted in Deng Xiaoping's 1979 reforms, and Zhu is remembered for his tenacity and resourcefulness in driving significant historical changes, such as China's accession to the WTO.
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