Global Markets
Home›Global Markets›China›Zhu Rongji, China economic reformer and premier, dies…
Zhu Rongji, China economic reformer and premier, dies at 97
Zhu served as vice premier and later governor of the People’s Bank of China from 1993 to 1995, overseeing major policy moves during turbulent years.
Zhu Rongji, the fifth Premier of the People’s Republic of China and a leading figure in China’s economic reform era, has died at 97, according to the Guardian Economics obituary. He was known as a forceful administrator who pushed reforms after 1949 and later helped steer the economy during a period of major uncertainty in the early 1990s.
The outlet says Zhu was called to Beijing in 1991 after the 1989 uprisings and the collapse of the Soviet Union, following the leadership of Jiang Zemin. As vice premier, and as governor of the People’s Bank of China from 1993 to 1995, he was tasked with economic management at a time when many feared China would retreat inward.
Guardian Economics reports that as premier Zhu implemented contentious reforms aimed at making the state-owned sector more efficient and modernizing infrastructure. By the end of the decade, he declared that China had become the “factory of the world,” a role the country still holds in many ways.
The obituary also highlights Zhu’s reputation for harsh action on corruption, including sacking a Heilongjiang governor for failing to meet growth targets. It notes that in 1998 he used a blunt remark about preparing coffins for corrupt officials, which helped earn him the nickname “the Boss.”