Zhu Rongji obituary: The Guardian update
Zhu Rongji, who has died aged 97, was the fifth premier of the People’s Republic of China and one of its most effective administrators and
Zhu Rongji, who has died aged 97, was the fifth premier of the People’s Republic of China and one of its most effective administrators and economic reformers following its foundation in 1949. In 1991, Zhu was summoned to Beijing, in the footsteps of the then president and party secretary Jiang Zemin, and in the aftermath of the 1989 uprisings in Beijing and the collapse of the Soviet Union. As vice premier in the state council, and governor of the People’s Bank of China (1993-95), Zhu was put in charge of China’s economy at a time of immense turbulence, with many fearing that the country would once more turn inward as it had under Mao Zedong. Zhu implemented contentious and tough reforms to straighten out the highly inefficient state-owned sector, and to modernise China’s infrastructure. By the end of the decade, Zhu could rightly declare that the country had become “the factory of the world”, a status that in many ways it maintains. A straight-talking and forceful figure, he was famously harsh on corruption, once sacking a governor of Heilongjiang province on the spot for failing to meet growth targets. This laid the foundation for his popularity within China generally, and the high regard with which he was held abroad. He seemed to come close to the ideal image of a Chinese leader possessed of moral dignity. Alone among high-level politicians of his period, he attempted to reach out to the population at large, and speak to them as an equal. Nor was he willing to stand on ceremony. As he stated in 1998: “I have prepared 100 coffins here – 99 for corrupt officials and one for myself,” according to the party newspaper People’s Daily. This gained him the nickname of “the Boss”. View image in fullscreen Zhu Rongji with Bill Clinton at the White House in 1999. He reportedly told his officials that he was in awe of Washington’s incompetence and lack of foresight. Photograph: Shutterstock His most significant achievement as premier was to secure China’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
What had begun in 1986 as negotiations over entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Taxes (Gatt), had spanned out over a decade, involving an epic series of agreements with both the EU, the US and dozens of other countries. In 1999, the deal with the US, which was the most contentious and important, was almost completed. Zhu was on a visit to Washington, expecting to sign this off, but it was pulled by President Bill Clinton at the time because of domestic problems following the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Aiming some of his famous sharpness and temper at the Americans, Zhu reportedly told his officials that he was in awe of Washington’s incompetence and lack of foresight. The final deal was signed in 2001. It can be seen as a watershed moment in China’s attempts to modernise, and to internationalise its economy, with strong growth and a doubling of the Chinese economy over the next five years. Zhu retired after one term in power, in 2003, and was replaced by his protege, Wen Jiabao. For all the successes of his time in power, these did not come as easy gifts. In the 1990s, the state sector, which comprised most of the key enterprises, was riddled with debt, inefficiency and poor management. To address this, the whole social welfare and public sector framework had to be changed. Up to 60 million workers were laid off, some of them never employed again. Unrest was a striking feature of this period, with one commentator calling it a period of “ferment”. View image in fullscreen Zhu Rongji with the German chancellor Helmut Kohl in Bonn, 1996. Photograph: Hermann J Knippertz/AP Even WTO entry offered no panacea, with the agricultural and manufacturing sector going through painful adjustments. Zhu was an obstinate and hard-eyed man: he had to be, to deal with the issues he faced. Much of this toughness came from his early years. Born in Changsha, the capital of the central Hunan province – Mao’s home province, too – Zu was orphaned when young and brought up by two of his father’s brothers.
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