Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, who led China’s economic reforms and entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), has died of illness at 97.
Zhu passed away in Beijing at around 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday following an unsuccessful treatment for an illness, Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency reported, without providing further details.
Born in Changsha, the capital of China’s central Hunan Province, in 1928, Zhu lost both of his parents at an early age. In 1951, he graduated from the prestigious Tsinghua University with a degree in electrical engineering.
He had a long political career, but his ascent to the top of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) leadership was met with challenges. During a political campaign in 1958, he was branded a “rightist” and expelled from the CCP. He rejoined the CCP after the decade-long Cultural Revolution that ended in 1976….
Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Dies at 97
