Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji dies aged 98
Zhu Rongji, China’s former premier who guided the economy through the Asian financial crisis and led landmark reforms, died on Wednesday aged 98, Xinhua reported.
Source: Astro Awani · August 12, 2026 at 6:43 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceBEIJING, 13 AUGUST 2026 —
Zhu Rongji, China’s former premier who guided the economy through the Asian financial crisis and led landmark reforms, died on Wednesday aged 98, Xinhua reported.
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According to Xinhua, Zhu died from illness at 11.06 am in Beijing. China’s ruling Communist Party, the National People’s Congress, the State Council and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference issued a joint obituary calling him an outstanding party member, a loyal and experienced communist fighter, a proletarian revolutionary, a statesman and an eminent leader.
Born in Changsha, Hunan province in October 1928, Zhu graduated in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University in 1951 and joined the Communist Party in 1949. From 1951 to 1983 he held successive economic roles at central and provincial levels, serving as deputy director of the now-defunct State Economic Commission from 1983 to 1987.
Between 1987 and 1991 he held three posts in Shanghai in succession: deputy party secretary, mayor and party secretary. During that period he pushed industrial restructuring, raised international competitiveness and promoted export-oriented growth.
In 1991 he became a deputy premier of the State Council; in October 1992 he joined the Politburo and its Standing Committee, overseeing routine State Council operations. In June 1993 he was appointed governor of the People’s Bank of China.
Zhu helped implement Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 “southern tour” principles, advancing reform, openness and modernisation. He also led efforts to resolve the domestic “triangle debt” crisis, tightened macroeconomic regulation to cool an overheating economy, tame inflation and engineer a soft landing.
In September 1997 he remained on the Politburo and its Standing Committee, and in March 1998 he was named premier. Facing the Asian financial crisis and massive floods, he adopted proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy, expanded domestic demand and deepened key reforms, maintaining rapid, stable growth.
He introduced basic living allowances for laid-off state-enterprise workers, unemployment insurance and minimum urban living guarantees, while tackling wage arrears and re-employment. Under his deputy premiership and premiership, China moved from a planned to a socialist market economy. He oversaw the framework of that system, supervised China’s WTO accession negotiations and widened and deepened the country’s opening.
The joint obituary said Zhu stressed commitment to duty, facing challenges boldly and working tirelessly for the people’s benefit. He retired as premier in March 2003 and, after retirement, continued to support the party under successive leaderships, including those led by Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. He remained engaged in work to strengthen China’s socialist characteristics and to combat corruption.
Related: Beijing