Obituary from the CPC Central Committee, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the State Council, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
Comrade Zhu Rongji has passed away.

2026-08-12 Source: “Study in China” Learning Platform

Comrade Zhu Rongji’s portrait, issued by Xinhua News Agency.

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — 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 solemnly announce: Comrade Zhu Rongji, an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a loyal communist fighter long tested in struggle, a distinguished proletarian revolutionary and statesman, an eminent leader of the Party and the state, and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the 14th and 15th CPC Central Committees as well as a former Premier of the State Council, passed away in Beijing at 11:06 a.m. on August 12, 2026, after failing to respond to medical treatment, at the age of 98.

Comrade Zhu Rongji was born in October 1928 in Changsha, Hunan Province. He joined the revolutionary cause in December 1948 and became a member of the Communist Party of China in October 1949. From his youth, he demonstrated deep love for his country, a strong work ethic, a commitment to progress, and an unwavering dedication to serving the nation. From 1947 to 1951, he studied electrical machinery manufacturing at the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University and participated in the “New Democratic Youth League.” From 1951 to 1952, he served as Deputy Director of the Production Planning Section within the Planning Division of the Northeast Industrial Ministry. Between 1952 and 1958, he successively held positions including Team Leader in the Fuel and Power Bureau and the Comprehensive Bureau of the State Planning Commission, Deputy Director of the Office of the Director of the State Planning Commission, and Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Division of the Machinery Bureau of the State Planning Commission. From 1958 to 1969, he worked as an instructor at the State Planning Commission’s Part-time Cadre School and as an engineer in the Comprehensive Bureau of the National Economy. From 1970 to 1975, he was assigned to labor at the “May Seventh” Cadre School under the State Planning Commission. Between 1975 and 1979, he served as Deputy Director of the Office and Deputy Chief Engineer at the Electric Power and Communications Engineering Company of the Pipeline Bureau of the Ministry of Petroleum Industry, and later as Head of a Research Section at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. From 1979 to 1983, he successively held posts as Director of the Fuel and Power Bureau, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Bureau, and Director of the Technical Transformation Bureau of the State Economic Commission, while also serving as a member of its Standing Committee. From 1983 to 1987, he served as Deputy Director and a member of the Party Leadership Group of the State Economic Commission, and later as Deputy Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group. From 1987 to 1991, he held the positions of Deputy Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Mayor, and Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. During this period, he proposed that Shanghai should adjust its industrial structure, reorganize new developmental advantages, enhance its international competitiveness, and pursue an outward-oriented economic model. He spearheaded the substantive launch of Pudong’s development and opening-up, laying a solid foundation for Shanghai’s further reform, opening-up, and growth. In 1991, Comrade Zhu Rongji was appointed Vice Premier of the State Council, concurrently serving as Director and Party Secretary of the State Council’s Production Office, as well as Director and Party Secretary of the State Council’s Economic and Trade Office, overseeing sectors such as mechanical and electrical engineering, energy, railway transportation, metallurgy and chemical industries, and light industry and textiles. In October 1992, at the First Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee, he was elected a member of the Political Bureau and a member of its Standing Committee, assuming responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the State Council. In June 1993, he additionally took on the role of Governor of the People’s Bank of China. He actively promoted and implemented the spirit of Deng Xiaoping’s Southern Talks and the guiding principles of the 14th National Congress of the CPC, vigorously advancing reform and modernization. He initiated efforts to resolve the issue of “triangular debts,” focusing on addressing root causes to revitalize enterprise operations. He formulated strategies and measures to strengthen and improve macroeconomic regulation, fostering consensus and undertaking extensive, effective work to reverse overheating, curb inflation, and achieve a “soft landing.” He prioritized rectifying fiscal and tax order, enforcing strict financial discipline, enhancing tax collection and administration, accelerating fiscal and tax reforms, and refining the financial regulatory framework. He also pushed forward reforms of grain pricing and procurement systems, establishing a grain trading regime aligned with the requirements of the socialist market economy, and, on a voluntary basis among farmers, introduced large-scale contracted farming and promoted moderately scaled operations. In September 1997, at the First Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee, Comrade Zhu Rongji was re-elected a member of the Political Bureau and a member of its Standing Committee. In March 1998, at the First Session of the Ninth National People’s Congress, he was appointed Premier of the State Council and subsequently served as Party Secretary of the State Council. Facing the impact of the Asian financial crisis and severe domestic flooding, he followed the Party Central Committee’s directives, shifting from a moderately tight fiscal and monetary policy to an active fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, striving to expand domestic demand and deepen reforms in key areas, thereby maintaining economic stability and rapid growth. He comprehensively adjusted the industrial, regional, and urban–rural structures, vigorously developing high‑tech industries—particularly the information sector—while actively supporting the accelerated growth of modern service industries and working to improve the quality and efficiency of economic growth. He placed the resolution of the “three rural issues” (agriculture, rural areas, and farmers) at the forefront, promoting agricultural structural adjustments tailored to local conditions, strengthening poverty alleviation and development in rural areas, and fostering coordinated urban–rural development. He adopted a series of policies to broaden opening-up and encourage exports, maintained the renminbi’s exchange rate stability, pursued a strategy of market diversification and quality‑based competition, 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 to protect and develop the ecological environment, strengthened management of land, mineral resources, and other natural assets, and concentrated resources on tackling pollution in key river basins and regions. He established basic living security systems for laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises, unemployment insurance, and minimum living allowances for urban residents, and devoted significant effort to resolving arrears in wage payments and facilitating reemployment for laid-off workers. He continued to transform government functions and advance institutional reforms, focusing on strengthening the government’s own capacity. After becoming Premier of the State Council, Comrade Zhu Rongji concurrently served as Chairman of the Central Special Committee, Director of the National Economic System Reform Commission, Head of the National Science and Education Leading Group, Chairman of the State Council’s Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, Chairman of the National Defense Mobilization Commission, and Head of the State Council’s Western Development Leading Group, pouring immense energy into economic system reform, science and technology, education, the Great Western Development initiative, and the defense industry.

During Comrade Zhu Rongji’s tenure as Vice Premier and later as Premier of the State Council, China was at a critical juncture in its transition from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core, he spearheaded fiscal and tax system reforms, comprehensively implementing major tax reforms centered on equitable tax burdens and tax simplification. He instituted a revenue‑sharing fiscal system based on a rational division of powers between the central and local governments and launched pilot programs for rural tax and fee reforms. He vigorously advanced financial sector reform, further clarifying the functions of the central bank, deepening reforms in commercial banks, the foreign exchange regime, and the securities and futures markets, and promoting the establishment of a nationwide financial market characterized by unified openness, orderly competition, and rigorous regulation. He placed state‑owned enterprise reform at the heart of economic restructuring, accelerating the development of a modern corporate governance framework in line with the principles of clear property rights, well‑defined responsibilities, separation of government and enterprise, and scientific management. Strategically, he restructured the layout of the state‑owned economy and reorganized SOEs, while emphasizing the imperative of doing everything possible to facilitate the reemployment of laid‑off workers and strengthening the social security system. He also pushed forward housing system reform, gradually introducing monetary subsidies for housing allocation and establishing and improving a multi‑tiered urban housing supply system anchored by affordable housing. He continued to deepen reforms of the grain circulation system, implementing policies such as open‑ended procurement of surplus grain at guaranteed prices, allowing state‑owned grain trading enterprises to sell at market‑aligned prices, and operating grain‑purchase funds under a closed‑accounting regime, while progressively liberalizing grain‑purchase markets and pricing in major sales regions. In addition, he oversaw a series of major reforms—covering the social security system, the medical and health care system, and the investment‑and‑financing system—helping to lay the foundational framework for a socialist market economy. He led the arduous negotiations that culminated in China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, thereby expanding the scope and depth of China’s opening-up policy. Comrade Zhu Rongji bore deep affection for the people, stressing that government officials must always remember they are public servants, dare to speak truthfully, fear no offense, eschew special privileges, and, with a strong sense of responsibility, proactively shoulder heavy burdens and tackle thorny issues, working tirelessly to deliver tangible benefits to the people.

In March 2003, Comrade Zhu Rongji stepped down from his post as Premier of the State Council. After retiring from leadership positions, he firmly upheld and supported the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, and likewise firmly upheld and supported the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. He has consistently shown deep concern for the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and steadfastly backed efforts to strengthen Party conduct and integrity and to combat corruption.

Comrade Zhu Rongji lived a life of revolution, of struggle, and of shining brilliance—a life devoted wholeheartedly to serving the people and to the cause of communism. His passing is a profound loss for the Party and the country. We must turn our grief into strength, carry forward his revolutionary spirit, his noble character, and his fine style, and rally even more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. We must hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply appreciate the decisive significance of the “two establishments,” strengthen our “four consciousnesses,” bolster our “four confidences,” and ensure “two safeguards.” With firm confidence and united hearts and minds, we will strive in solidarity to advance the great cause of national rejuvenation through the comprehensive promotion of China’s modernization.

Comrade Zhu Rongji will live forever!

Editor-in-charge: Zhao Danyang