Remembered as a candid, decisive leader, the former Chinese premier championed entrepreneurship, welcomed foreign expertise and brought urgency to economic policymaking
5-MIN READ5-MIN ListenFrank Tangin BeijingPublished: 9:00pm, 13 Aug 2026Turn-of-the-century images of Zhu Rongji alongside former US president Bill Clinton have largely accompanied coverage following the former Chinese premier’s death on Wednesday.
The moment in April 1999 was more than a diplomatic milestone. It underpinned some of China’s most consequential reforms that defined Zhu’s tenure, from its drive to join the World Trade Organization to an overhaul of the state sector and opening its markets to the world.
And in recent years, Zhu’s historic trip to Washington has also become a subject of reflection among American lawmakers, think tanks and officials, as a strategic rivalry with China has emerged across nearly every economic and business front.
00:52Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji dies at age 97“Intelligent, insightful, outspoken and decisive,” said Zhang Chongqing, honorary president of China Group Companies Association, recalling his first impression of Zhu and their early work together on economic reform, dating back to 1980 when they were both at China’s top economic planner.
Zhang, who pioneered enterprise reform as deputy director general of the government-backed China Enterprise Management Association – now known as the China Enterprise Confederation – in the 1980s and ’90s, recalled the eagerness of the late premier to learn foreign management expertise and find a way forward for state-owned enterprises, which were a core part of China’s centrally managed economy for decades.
