Zhu Rongji, a Chinese economist and politician, died in Beijing on Aug. 12, 2026, at age 97, The Associated Press reported. Zhu was a leading architect of China’s late-1990s shift toward a more market-oriented but state-controlled economy.
As deputy premier in the 1990s, Zhu used state measures to contain rapidly rising prices, enforcing price controls and cutting loans to money-losing government-owned companies. From 1994 to 1996, he introduced a tax-sharing system that required local officials to send more revenue to Beijing. The change gave the central government greater control over national economic policy.
Zhu became China’s premier, or head of government, in 1998. In that role, he pushed state-owned companies to operate efficiently and profitably while retaining government ownership of major enterprises. The restructuring turned many large state enterprises into corporations competing in domestic and international markets, but it also caused millions of layoffs.
In 1998, Zhu launched the sale of apartments owned by state companies. Within a decade, most urban housing was privately owned, and the system had shifted from employer-provided apartments toward homeownership.
Zhu pushed China to join the World Trade Organization, the global trade body. His effort included a 1999 trip to Washington. China joined the organization in December 2001, completing its entry into the global trading system.
