Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji died of illness on Wednesday, 13 August 2025, at 11:06 am local time in Beijing, aged 98. A towering figure in China's economic transformation, Zhu served as Premier of the State Council from 1998 to 2003 and is widely credited with steering China through the Asian financial crisis and engineering a historic shift from a planned economy to a socialist market system.

Official Tribute and State Obituary

A joint obituary was issued by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The document described Zhu as 'an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.' The obituary concluded: 'His death is a great loss to the Party and the state.'

A Life in Public Service

Born in October 1928 in Changsha, Hunan Province, Zhu studied electrical engineering at Tsinghua University from 1947 to 1951 and joined the CPC in October 1949. Over the following three decades, he held a series of economic posts across regional and central government institutions. Between 1987 and 1991, he served as Mayor of Shanghai and later as Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, where he pushed the city toward export-led growth and industrial restructuring.

In 1991, Zhu was appointed Vice Premier of the State Council. By June 1993, he concurrently held the role of Governor of the People's Bank of China, a dual mandate that underscored his grip on economic policy at a critical juncture.

Economic Legacy: Reforms That Reshaped China

Zhu's tenure as Premier — from March 1998 to March 2003 — coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in modern Asian economic history. Confronting the fallout of the Asian financial crisis and severe domestic flooding, he pivoted China's policy stance from moderately tight fiscal management to a proactive fiscal posture, expanding domestic demand while holding firm against pressure to devalue the renminbi.

Among his most consequential reforms was the overhaul of China's fiscal and taxation system, introducing a tax-sharing arrangement between the central and local governments that remains a structural pillar of Chinese public finance. He also resolved the 'triangular debt' crisis — a web of inter-enterprise and state-sector arrears that had paralysed credit flows — and brought inflation under control through macroeconomic tightening, achieving what analysts have described as a rare economic 'soft landing.'

Zhu also championed China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) during his premiership, a move that accelerated the country's integration into global supply chains. He actively attracted foreign investment and worked to stabilise Hong Kong as an international financial centre amid regional turbulence.

Later Years and Political Standing

After stepping down as Premier in March 2003, Zhu retired from active leadership. He had served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 14th and 15th CPC Central Committees. The state obituary noted that in retirement he 'steadfastly upheld and supported' successive CPC leaderships, including those of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping.

With Zhu's passing, China loses one of the last major architects of its post-Deng reform era — a period that set the foundation for the world's second-largest economy.