Zhu Rongji, who helped turn China into a trading giant, dies at 97

What the report says

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has died at the age of 97, according to BBC World News. The report says Zhu was a central figure in China’s economic transformation, especially during his tenure as premier from 1998 to 2003, when he helped steer the country toward deeper integration with global markets.

BBC World News says Zhu played a leading role in China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, a move that opened Chinese factories more fully to international trade and encouraged foreign investment. He was also known for pushing reforms that shifted tax powers toward the central government, shut down or privatized weak state firms, and promoted home ownership. Supporters saw him as a tough, pragmatic administrator who helped stabilize the economy and curb corruption.

The article adds that his policies came with heavy social costs, including large-scale layoffs and growing inequality, even as China became a manufacturing powerhouse. Born in Hunan in 1928, Zhu studied electrical engineering, joined the Communist Party in 1949 and later returned to senior office after political purges earlier in his career.

His death marks the loss of one of the key architects of modern China’s economic rise. While the BBC account focuses on his reform record, it also places his legacy in a broader historical context: rapid growth, greater global reach and continuing debate over the costs of that transformation.