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Zhu Rongji, China’s reformer, dies at 97 in Beijing

Zhu led major economic overhauls from 1991 to 2003, including sweeping SOE changes, a tax system revamp, and securing China’s entry to the World Trade Organization.

Reported · Written up by our desk · China

Zhu Rongji, the Chinese economist and reform leader often credited with steering major policy shifts during the 1990s, has died in Beijing at age 97, according to SCMP Economy.

During his tenure as vice-premier and premier from 1991 to 2003, Zhu was known as a crisis manager who pushed reforms while the country dealt with the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the disruption from sweeping state-owned enterprise, or SOE, reforms.

SCMP Economy reports that his agenda included overhauling China’s centrally planned economy, restructuring the state-owned business sector, fighting corruption, and revamping the tax system.

The outlet also said Zhu played a key role in securing China’s entry to the World Trade Organization, changes that some economists argue helped transform China into a modern economy more integrated with the global marketplace.

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