Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji passes away at 98

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji died in Beijing on August 12, 2026, at the age of 98, according to Xinhua.

Born in Changsha, Hunan Province, in 1928, Zhu studied electrical engineering at Tsinghua University and joined the Communist Party in 1949. He rose through government economic posts before serving as mayor and Party secretary of Shanghai, where he pushed industrial restructuring and economic reforms.

Zhu became vice premier in 1991 and governor of the People’s Bank of China in 1993, helping tackle inflation, an overheated economy and widespread corporate debt.

As premier from 1998 to 2003, he led major fiscal, financial and state-owned enterprise reforms while steering China through the Asian financial crisis and devastating floods. He also helped advance China’s transition toward a socialist market economy and played a key role in negotiations for China’s WTO accession in 2001.

Known for his direct, reform-minded style, Zhu emphasized government accountability, public service and opposition to official privilege.

China’s top political institutions praised him as an outstanding statesman and said his death was “a great loss to the Party and the state.”