Zhu Rongji, trailblazing ex-premier who transformed China's economy

Zhu Rongji, a trailblazing former premier of China who passed away at the age of 97, was renowned for his advocacy of free-market policies and extensive economic reforms during his five-year term. Born in Changsha in 1928, Zhu grew up in a country torn by civil war and studied electrical engineering at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University.

He joined the Communist Party in 1949, the same year Mao Zedong declared the birth of "New China". Zhu held various roles, including an economic planner at the State Planning Commission and an engineer, but faced two purges during the early years of the People's Republic, first during the "Hundred Flowers Campaign" in the 1950s and again during the Cultural Revolution.

He was rehabilitated after Mao's death and later appointed mayor of Shanghai in 1988, where he championed market reforms. As vice premier under Jiang Zemin in 1991, Zhu was often referred to as China's Mikhail Gorbachev due to his reformist stance. It was during his tenure as premier from 1998 that Zhu's radical reforms truly set him apart.

Among them, he spearheaded the privatization of unprofitable state-owned enterprises, slashed 30 million jobs over five years, and promoted home ownership, leading to a surge in real estate and construction. These reforms helped China avoid the worst of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and consolidated its transformation from an isolated economy to a global marketplace.

Zhu was also known for his hard-nosed opposition to corruption, exemplified by the execution of a former vice governor for bribery, one of the highest-ranking officials put to death for such charges in five decades. Fluent in English, Zhu formalized the traditional premier's press conference at the end of the yearly "Two Sessions" political meet, known for his frankness and humor.

Despite his contributions, his brand of market reformism fell out of favor with the rise of Xi Jinping in 2012, who has since condemned runaway capitalism and sought to move China towards a more balanced development path. Zhu is survived by his wife, Lao An, and two children.