appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Amber Wang

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji will be cremated in Beijing on Tuesday, with flags across the country – including in Hong Kong and Macau – flown at half-mast, state media reported on Sunday.
Zhu, who served as premier from 1998 to 2003 and played a pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market-based economy, died of an illness in Beijing on Wednesday at age 97.
According to state news agency Xinhua, national flags will fly at half-mast on Tuesday at sites in Beijing, including Tiananmen Square, as well as at provincial government buildings, locations in Hong Kong and Macau and China’s overseas embassies and consulates.
Hong Kong will fly the national and regional flags at half-staff at various government sites. The government said on Sunday it would lower the flags at government headquarters in Admiralty, Government House, all control points and checkpoints at border crossings and Hong Kong International Airport.
The mourning protocols for Zhu align with those of former premiers Li Keqiang, who died in 2023 at the age of 68, and Li Peng, who died in 2019 at the age of 90.
Dubbed China’s “economic tsar”, Zhu is remembered for overhauling state-owned enterprises and transforming the central planned economy.
He was also the mastermind behind China’s World Trade Organization accession in 2001, an event that integrated the country into the global market and transformed its economic trajectory.

In an official obituary, Zhu was hailed as an “excellent party member, a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, statesman and leader of the party and the state”.
He was also known for his sharp intellect, straight-talking style and relentless drive for economic reform – especially his efforts to take on vested interests by overhauling the tax system – during his tenure as vice-premier and premier between 1991 and 2003.
The funeral is expected to follow established protocol, with top Communist Party and state leaders, including President Xi Jinping, paying their final respects before the cremation, as they did at Li Keqiang’s funeral in 2023.
In China’s strict hierarchy for official formalities, mourning protocols vary according to a leader’s rank. Former president Jiang Zemin received the highest honours, including a nationally televised memorial service.
Beyond economic reforms, Zhu also played a critical role in ensuring Hong Kong’s smooth handover in 1997 and steering Beijing through the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis.
He also engineered a soft landing for China’s economy in the early 1990s as the nation struggled with surging inflation.
News of Zhu’s funeral trended on Chinese social media on Sunday, drawing over 20 million views as citizens posted tributes to mourn his death.


Chinese lawyers offer coaching for when corruption busters come knocking

People’s Daily rejects US claims of malicious AI distillation, warns of countermeasures

Will China’s new local surtax provide relief for its regions’ fiscal headaches?

Huawei’s US trial puts jury to the test amid China, Iran links

China’s Communist Party

China to fly flags at half-mast for former premier Zhu Rongji’s funeral

Zhu Rongji, who served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, died on Wednesday at the age of 97. Photo: Reuters

A man passes a giant screen in Beijing displaying a portrait of former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

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

Zhu Rongji, who was premier of China from 1998 to 2003, has died aged 97. Photo: Robert Ng

Zhu Rongji helped drive China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. He is seen here the following year, at the opening of the 16th World Congress of Accountants in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji concludes his final report to the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing March 5, 2003. Photo: Reuters

Zhu Rongji: reformer who led China’s economic transformation through ‘minefield or abyss’

Then premier Zhu Rongji pictured with president Jiang Zemin in 1999. Photo: Xinhua

Then US president Bill Clinton listens as Chinese premier Zhu Rongji delivers his opening remarks during an official welcoming ceremony, at the White House in April 1999. Photo: Reuters

Then Colorado governor Bill Owens applauds as Chinese premier Zhu Rongji shows off a cowboy hat Owens presented to him, in Denver in 1999. Photo: Reuters

Chinese premier Zhu Rongji and Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa in September 1997. Photo: Dickson Lee

Zhu Rongji and US vice-president Al Gore look on at the signing of an environmental agreement in April 1999 in Washington. Photo: AFP

Zhu Rongji celebrating his 92nd birthday with his wife Lao An, doctors and nurses in 2020. Photo: Handout

The 11 key achievements of China’s ‘iron premier’ Zhu Rongji – in his own words

As mayor of Shanghai, Zhu Rongji (right) leads an economic delegation to Hong Kong in June 1990. Photo: Robert Ng

Visitors admire the Pudong New Area, Shanghai’s booming financial district, on September 26, 1998. Photo: Reuters

Chinese president Jiang Zemin (left) discusses the contents of work reports with premier Zhu Rongji during the second day of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 6, 2000. Photo: AFP

(From left) Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and AIG CEO Maurice R. Greenberg meet with members of the Chief Executive’s Council of International Advisers at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 19, 2002. Photo: Handout

Quo-wei Lee (left), chairman of the Hong Kong stock exchange, and Philip Wong Yu-hong (right), vice-chairman of the Stock Exchange, accompany Zhu Rongji, mayor of Shanghai, to visit the stock exchange in June 1990. Photo: SCMP

US president Bill Clinton (R) and Chinese premier Zhu Rongji stand at attention on April 8, 1999, during the state arrival ceremony for Zhu at the White House in Washington. Photo: AFP

Chinese premier Zhu Rongji delivers his government’s work report to the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2000. Zhu issued a strong warning on corruption, saying the battle against corruption should be waged at the highest level. Photo: AFP

News

China

Politics

The late statesman, known for his pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market economy, will be cremated in Beijing on Tuesday


The late statesman, known for his pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market economy, will be cremated in Beijing on Tuesday.


China to fly flags at half-mast for former premier Zhu Rongji’s funeral

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The late statesman, known for his pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market economy, will be cremated in Beijing on Tuesday

The late statesman, known for his pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market economy, will be cremated in Beijing on Tuesday