Zhu Rongji, China’s chief engineer of economic reform and former premier, dies aged 97

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, who helped engineer one of the greatest economic reforms in the human history, has died. He was 97.

Zhu, who served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, is remembered for tackling corruption, shaking up the centrally planned economy and overhauling the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector.

Born in 1928 in Changsha, the capital of the central province of Hunan, Zhu graduated from Tsinghua University in 1951 with a degree in electrical engineering and joined the civil service, working on regional and national economic policy.

He rose to be vice-premier in charge of China’s economy between 1991 and 1998 before taking on the role of premier.

In the 1990s, when China’s high inflation, mounting debt and SOE losses threatened financial stability, Zhu targeted the risks by centralising fiscal policy, cutting red tape and closing or privatising failing enterprises.