Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Zhu Rongji, reformist Chinese premier who drove economic overhaul, dies
A very important leader in China, named Zhu Rongji, has died.
He was in charge of China's economy from 1998 to 2003.
He made big government-owned factories work better and earn money, like private businesses.
This change was hard because millions of people lost their jobs.
But it also helped China grow very fast and become one of the world's biggest trading countries.
He helped China join a big group for trading countries called the World Trade Organization.
He also let families buy the apartments they lived in, which started a time when many people began owning their own homes.
When he was young, he was punished for speaking his mind and had to do farm work for many years.
He became known for being honest about mistakes and tough on corruption.
He died in Beijing after being ill, at about 97 years old.
Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji died of illness in Beijing at around 11 am on Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua; reports list his age as 97, though some headlines say 98.
As premier from 1998 to 2003 under President Jiang Zemin, Zhu forced state-owned companies to become efficient and profitable, costing millions of layoffs but helping China overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy in 2010.
Building on Deng Xiaoping's reforms, Zhu led China into the World Trade Organization, with membership secured in December 2001, helping transform China into the world's biggest exporter.
His 1998 initiative to sell state-owned apartments launched China's home ownership boom, with the majority of urban housing privately owned within a decade.
Born in October 1928 in Hunan, Mao Zedong's home province, Zhu was labeled a 'rightist' in 1957 and sent to manual labor during the Cultural Revolution before his rehabilitation in 1979 and rise to premier in 1998.
- Who
- Zhu Rongji, former Premier of China (1998–2003)
- What
- Zhu died of illness; he was the reformist premier who drove China's 1990s state-industry overhaul, WTO membership and home ownership boom
- When
- Around 11 am on a Wednesday, according to Xinhua; the articles do not give the exact date
- Where
- Beijing, China
- Why
- He died of illness, ending the life of the reformer credited with helping ignite China's explosive economic growth
Supporters of Zhu's economic overhaul
Critics of his methods and record
State industry reform
Supporters of Zhu's economic overhaul
Forcing state-owned companies to become efficient and profitable propelled China's boom and helped it overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy in 2010.
Critics of his methods and record
The changes cost millions of layoffs, and officials often ignored Zhu's orders because he lacked his own power base.
WTO concessions in 1999
Supporters of Zhu's economic overhaul
Zhu offered market-opening concessions on his 1999 Washington trip to win US endorsement of China's WTO bid, which succeeded when China joined in December 2001.
Critics of his methods and record
The Clinton administration rejected the offer as inadequate, while some Chinese officials feared the concessions could hurt the domestic economy and political enemies at home accused him of offering too much.
Economic approach and legacy
Supporters of Zhu's economic overhaul
Zhu was popular for criticizing official bungling and graft, accepted blame when the government fell short, and supporters credit him with establishing the institutional foundations for China's rise as an economic powerhouse.
Critics of his methods and record
Critics say he was a technician who carried out party orders and kept government ownership of major enterprises; the reforms caused job losses and inequality, and mistakes involving state enterprises, taxation and agricultural policy created problems later governments had to address — a legacy sometimes contrasted with the more state-directed approach under Xi Jinping.
- Full name
- Zhu Rongji
- Role
- Premier of China (1998–2003)
- Age at death
- 97 (some headlines report 98)
- Place of death
- Beijing
- Cause of death
- Illness
- Born
- October 23, 1928, in Changsha, Hunan province
- Key achievement
- Led China into the World Trade Organization in December 2001
- Landmark 2002 visit
- First visit to India by a Chinese premier in 11 years; met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
