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Zhu Rongji dies in Beijing
Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, who led China into the World Trade Organization, died of illness in Beijing on Wednesday at around 11 a.m., state media reported.
“Zhu died in Beijing at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday”
The Seattle Times, citing Xinhua, said Zhu died at 97 and had pushed through “a dizzying array of changes” as premier from 1998 to 2003 under former President Jiang Zemin.
The New York Times said Zhu’s death was announced by Xinhua, which “did not cite a cause,” and noted only that he died after medical treatment failed to save him.
Xinhua’s obituary described Zhu as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 14th and 15th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party, and said he died at 11:06 a.m. on Wednesday at the age of 98.
Reform legacy and debate
Multiple outlets framed Zhu Rongji as a reformer tied to China’s market shift and WTO entry, while also stressing the social costs of his policies.
Le Monde reported that Xinhua quoted an official obituary saying, “His death constitutes an enormous loss for the party and for the country,” and described Zhu as the “Chinese Gorbachev” who led privatizing state-owned enterprises and urban housing.
The Seattle Times said Zhu was “the impatient, sharp-tongued reformer” who helped ignite China’s explosive economic boom by forcing change on state industry in the 1990s.
The New York Times added that Zhu’s initiatives propelled rapid growth, but also said his measures “set the stage for China’s recent problems with excessive debt and its huge trade surpluses,” which have led to trade wars with the United States during President Trump’s terms in office.
What comes next for China
Coverage also tied Zhu’s death to the political and economic direction of China’s leadership, including the contrast drawn between his reform vision and later policy preferences.
“went out of fashion with Xi Jinping’s rise to power in 2012”
Le Monde said Zhu’s reform vision “went out of fashion with Xi Jinping’s rise to power in 2012,” and quoted that “Mr. Xi condemns unbridled capitalism and favors a more balanced development model.”
The Orange Actualités piece said Zhu opposed the current leadership and the concentration of power in Xi Jinping’s hands in 2022, citing the Wall Street Journal, and it quoted Zhu telling a Danish journalist, “I only hope that after I am gone, people across the country will say: ‘He was an honest official, not a corrupt one,’ and that will be enough for me.”
In parallel, Xinhua’s obituary language described Zhu as “an excellent party member, a faithful and tested Communist fighter,” and said the death was reported as part of an obituary jointly published by the CCP Central Committee, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the State Council and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee.