The Iron Premier’s Final Chapter: Decoding Beijing’s Farewell to Zhu Rongji

He stared down hyperinflation and dragged China into the WTO. Today, we present the complete translated obituary of the uncompromising leader who shaped the modern global economy.

There are few figures in modern history who can claim to have quite literally built the economic engine of the 21st century. If you’ve tuned into the DeCoding China Podcast on our Think BRICS YouTube Channel, you already know his name. While our work explores the many dimensions of China’s transformation, few figures have shaped our conversations as profoundly as Zhu Rongji. A driving force behind our outreach has been to ensure international audiences recognize just how fundamental his legacy is to the China we see today.

But time passes for everyone, and on August 12, at the age of 98, former Prime Minister Zhu Rongji passed away.

When a titan of this magnitude leaves the stage, the Chinese state doesn’t merely issue a press release; it drafts a historical monument in text. To truly understand the man who shaped the modern Chinese economy, you must read how the system he fundamentally transformed chooses to remember him. Below, we present the complete, translated official obituary released by Beijing’s central leadership today.

Obituary from the CPC Central Committee, the NPC Standing Committee, the State Council, and the CPPCC National Committee: Passing of Comrade Zhu Rongji

Chang’an Avenue Zhishi - August 12, 2026 06:08

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 12 – The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference deeply mourn to announce: An outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and politician, and an exceptional leader of the Party and the State, Comrade Zhu Rongji, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 14th and 15th CPC Central Committees and former Premier of the State Council, passed away in Beijing at 11:06 on August 12, 2026, at the age of 98, after medical treatment proved ineffective.

Comrade Zhu Rongji was born in October 1928 in Changsha, Hunan Province. He participated in revolutionary work in December 1948 and joined the Communist Party of China in October 1949. During his youth, he deeply loved his motherland, studied diligently, pursued progress, and was determined to serve his country. From 1947 to 1951, he studied electrical machinery manufacturing in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University and participated in the “New Democratic Youth League“. From 1951 to 1952, he served as Deputy Director of the Production Planning Office in the Planning Division of the Ministry of Industry of the Northeast. From 1952 to 1958, he successively served as Group Leader in the Fuel and Power Bureau and the Comprehensive Bureau of the State Planning Commission, Deputy Division Chief of the Director’s Office of the State Planning Commission, and Deputy Division Chief of the Comprehensive Division of the Machinery Bureau of the State Planning Commission. From 1958 to 1969, he successively served as an instructor at the Spare-time Cadre School of the State Planning Commission and an engineer at the Comprehensive Bureau of the National Economy. From 1970 to 1975, he was sent down to do manual labor at the “May Seventh Cadre School“ of the State Planning Commission. From 1975 to 1979, he successively served as Deputy Director of the Office and Deputy Chief Engineer of the Electric Power and Telecommunications Engineering Company under the Pipeline Bureau of the Ministry of Petroleum Industry, and as Director of the Office at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. From 1979 to 1983, he successively served as Division Chief of the Fuel and Power Bureau, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Bureau, Director of the Technological Transformation Bureau, and a member of the State Economic Commission. From 1983 to 1987, he successively served as Deputy Director and member of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the State Economic Commission, and as Deputy Director and Deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the State Economic Commission. From 1987 to 1991, he successively served as Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mayor, and Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee. He proposed that Shanghai should adjust its industrial structure, reorganize new development advantages, enhance its international competitiveness, pursue a path of developing an outward-oriented economy, and push the development and opening-up of Pudong into a substantive startup phase, laying a solid foundation for Shanghai‘s further reform, opening-up, and development. In 1991, Comrade Zhu Rongji was appointed Vice Premier of the State Council and concurrently Director and Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the State Council Production Office, as well as Director and Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the State Council Economic and Trade Office, taking charge of electromechanical energy, railway transportation, metallurgy and chemicals, and light industry and textiles.

In October 1992, Comrade Zhu Rongji was elected as a member and Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee, taking charge of the routine work of the State Council. In June 1993, he concurrently served as Governor of the People’s Bank of China. He actively publicized and implemented the spirit of Comrade Deng Xiaoping‘s Southern Tour Talks, thoroughly implemented the spirit of the 14th CPC National Congress, and focused on advancing reform, opening-up, and modernization. He organized and carried out the cleanup of “triangular debts,” focusing on addressing root causes to enhance the vitality of enterprise operations. He studied and formulated ideas and measures to strengthen and improve macroeconomic regulation, further unifying understanding, and did a massive amount of highly effective work to reverse economic overheating, curb inflation, and achieve a “soft landing.” He focused on rectifying the financial and tax order, enforcing financial and economic discipline, strengthening tax collection and administration, accelerating fiscal and tax reform, and perfecting the financial regulation system. He promoted the reform of the grain price and purchase and sales system, establishing a grain purchase and sales system adapted to the requirements of the socialist market economy, implementing contracting by large grain-producing households on a voluntary basis for farmers, and developing moderate-scale operations. In September 1997, Comrade Zhu Rongji was re-elected as a member and Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee. In March 1998, at the First Session of the 9th National People’s Congress, he was appointed Premier of the State Council, and later served as Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the State Council. Facing the impact of the Asian Financial Crisis and severe domestic floods, in accordance with the deployment of the CPC Central Committee, he shifted from implementing a moderately tight fiscal and monetary policy to implementing a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, focusing on expanding domestic demand and deepening reforms in key areas, thereby maintaining stable and rapid economic growth. He comprehensively adjusted the industrial structure, regional structure, and urban-rural structure, vigorously developed high-tech industries, especially the information industry, actively supported the accelerated development of the modern service industry, and focused on improving the quality and efficiency of economic growth. He placed the resolution of the “Three Rural Issues“ (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers) in a prominent position, promoted agricultural structural adjustment tailored to local conditions, strengthened rural poverty alleviation and development, and promoted coordinated urban-rural development. He adopted a series of policy measures to expand opening-up and encourage exports, adhered to the non-devaluation of the RMB, implemented a market diversification strategy and a quality-winning strategy, actively attracted foreign investment, made better use of both domestic and international markets and resources, and resolutely safeguarded the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong as an international financial center. He intensified efforts in ecological environment protection and construction, strengthened the management of resources such as land and minerals, and concentrated efforts to tackle pollution in key river basins and regions. He established the basic living guarantee system for laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises, unemployment insurance, and the minimum living guarantee system for urban residents, making great efforts to solve issues such as arrears in workers’ wages and the re-employment of laid-off workers. He continuously transformed government functions, promoted government institutional reform, and focused on strengthening the government’s own construction. After assuming the role of Premier of the State Council, Comrade Zhu Rongji also successively concurrently served as Director of the Central Special Commission, Director of the State Commission for Economic Restructuring, Head of the State Science, Technology and Education Leading Group, Director of the State Council Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, Director of the National Defense Mobilization Commission, and Head of the State Council Western Region Development Leading Group, dedicating tremendous effort to the fields of economic restructuring, science and technology, education, Western Development, and national defense industry.

During Comrade Zhu Rongji‘s tenure as Vice Premier of the State Council and Premier of the State Council, our country was in a critical period of transition from a planned economic system to a socialist market economic system. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core, he presided over the fiscal and tax structural reform, comprehensively implemented a major tax system reform centered on fair tax burdens and tax simplification, implemented a tax-sharing fiscal system based on a rational division of administrative powers between the central and local governments, and carried out pilot reforms of rural taxes and fees. He actively promoted financial structural reform, further standardized the functions of the central bank, deepened the reforms of commercial banks, the foreign exchange system, and the securities and futures markets, and promoted the establishment of a national unified, open, orderly competitive, and strictly managed financial market system. He regarded the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as the central link of economic structural reform. In accordance with the requirements of “clear property rights, well-defined rights and responsibilities, separation of government functions from enterprise functions, and scientific management,” he accelerated the establishment of a modern enterprise system, strategically adjusted the layout of the state-owned economy, and reorganized state-owned enterprises. He emphasized that every possible means must be used to promote the re-employment of laid-off and unemployed workers and strengthen the construction of the social security system. He promoted housing system reform, gradually implemented the monetization of housing distribution, and established and improved a multi-tier urban housing supply system dominated by economically affordable housing. He continuously deepened the reform of the grain circulation system, implemented the open purchase of farmers’ surplus grain at protective prices, the sale of grain at reasonable prices by state-owned grain purchase and sales enterprises, and the closed operation of grain acquisition funds, gradually liberalizing the grain acquisition market and prices in major sales areas. He also presided over the implementation of a series of major reforms in the social security system, medical and health system, and investment and financing system, promoted the establishment of the basic framework of the socialist market economic system, presided over the completion of the arduous negotiations for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and promoted the expansion of opening-up in breadth and depth. Comrade Zhu Rongji was deeply affectionate towards the people, emphasizing that government staff must bear in mind that they are public servants of the people, dare to speak the truth, are not afraid of offending others, do not engage in privilege, and with a strong sense of responsibility, take the initiative to shoulder heavy burdens and tackle the toughest challenges, going all out to do practical things for the people.

In March 2003, Comrade Zhu Rongji stepped down from the post of Premier of the State Council. After retiring from his leadership post, he resolutely supported and backed the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, and resolutely supported and backed the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. He continuously cared about the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and firmly supported the construction of Party conduct and clean government and the anti-corruption struggle.

The life of Comrade Zhu Rongji was a life of revolution, struggle, and glory, a life of wholeheartedly serving the people and dedicating himself to the communist cause. His passing is a major loss to the Party and the State. We must turn our grief into strength, learn from his revolutionary spirit, noble character, and fine work style, unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, comprehensively implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, profoundly grasp the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments”, strengthen the “Four Consciousnesses,” firm up the “Four Confidences,” and achieve the “Two Upholds.” With firm confidence and united as one, we must strive in unity to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

Comrade Zhu Rongji is immortal!

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