appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Meredith Chen

Chinese President Xi Jinping led the party elite in paying a final tribute to former premier Zhu Rongji, who was cremated on Tuesday as national flags flew at half mast across the country and beyond.
Zhu died of an illness in Beijing last Wednesday aged 97.
He served as premier from 1998 to 2003 and is regarded as the chief engineer of the country’s economic reform, having played a pivotal role in transitioning China towards a market-based economy and steering its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).
That paved the way for China’s unprecedented growth and its rise as the world’s second-largest economy.


Zhu’s funeral took place at Beijing’s Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, where high-ranking officials and national heroes are laid to rest.
Xi and Premier Li Qiang, along with the five other members of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee and Vice-President Han Zheng, paid their final respects, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Draped in the party flag and surrounded by flowers and cypress branches, Zhu’s body lay in state as mourners gathered for the farewell ceremony, it said.
At around 9.30am, the leaders observed a moment of silence and bowed three times before Zhu’s body, before offering their condolences to his family.
Former president Hu Jintao sent a wreath, according to Xinhua.


The ceremony was in keeping with established protocols, which were also followed for the funeral of former premier Li Keqiang, who was cremated at Babaoshan in November 2023 after dying of a sudden heart attack aged 68.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, flags flew at half mast at Tiananmen Square and other key government and state sites in Beijing on Tuesday in honour of Zhu.
They included Xinhuamen – the main gate of Zhongnanhai, the compound housing the headquarters of China’s top leadership – the Great Hall of the People and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The lowering of the flag in Tiananmen Square to mourn Zhu was the top trending topic on Tuesday morning on Weibo, China’s popular microblogging platform.
Flags were also lowered to half mast across the seats of provincial-level party committees and governments, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau, at border ports, seaports and airports, and at Chinese diplomatic missions overseas.

In Hong Kong, national and Hong Kong SAR flags flew at half mast at Beijing’s liaison office in Sheung Wan, key local government sites including the central government offices in Admiralty and Government House in Central, as well as the city’s airport and all boundary control facilities.
Zhu, who was deputy to then-president Jiang Zemin, was dubbed China’s “economic tsar” for bold steps including sweeping market reforms and an overhaul of state-owned enterprises. He is remembered as one of China’s most consequential economic reformers for his decisive role in restructuring the economy and securing China’s accession to the WTO in 2001.
An official obituary released last week eulogised Zhu 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”.
On Tuesday, an official biography published by Xinhua hailed Zhu’s “political acumen and sound political judgment”, and praised his integrity, discipline and harsh opposition to corruption.
“He upheld truth and principle, demonstrated strong political acumen and political judgment, and took a clear stand on matters of fundamental importance, remaining loyal to the Communist Party and shouldering responsibility for the party,” it said.
Beyond Zhu’s role in overhauling China’s economy, the biography also highlighted his role in steering the country through the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, including his “firm support” for Hong Kong’s defence of its currency peg linking the Hong Kong dollar to the US currency, after the city returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

In 1998, as the Asian crisis put pressure on Hong Kong’s currency and financial markets, Zhu’s backing helped the city shore up its confidence and consolidate its position as an international financial centre, the official biography noted.
A defining feature of Zhu’s legacy was his sweeping overhaul of China’s state-owned sector, as he pushed to restructure inefficient and heavily indebted firms. This led to the closure or bankruptcy of many “zombie” companies, though it also caused job losses for millions of workers.
The reforms helped to revitalise the economy and create more room for efficient private and foreign-owned firms.


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

Chinese President Xi Jinping leads party elite in final farewell for ex-premier Zhu Rongji

President Xi Jinping conveys his condolences to members of Zhu Rongji’s family at a cremation ceremony in Beijing on Tuesday. Top Communist Party leaders gathered to pay their respects to the late former premier of China. Photo: Xinhua

In Hong Kong, national and Hong Kong SAR flags fly at half mast at the central government offices in Admiralty, to mourn late former premier Zhu Rongji. Photo: Jelly Tse

The national flag is lowered to half-mast in Tiananmen Square on Tuesday to mourn former premier Zhu Rongji. Photo: Xinhua

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

The death of Zhu Rongji, China’s economic reformer

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji during his visit to Hong Kong in 2002. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Zhu Rongji was premier of China from 1998 to 2003. Photo: Robert Ng

Former US president Bill Clinton (right) and former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji appear at a press conference in April 1999. Photo: AFP

Zhu Rongji pictured in 1996 with Anwar Ibrahim, who remembered the Chinese premier as a “good friend”. Photo: AFP 

Zhu Rongji’s legacy: how the late premier reshaped state firms, Pudong and China’s economy

Zhu Rongji reforms fuel China’s economic transformation

Zhu Rongji during a 1999 visit to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 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

News

China

Politics

Party elite attend ceremony at Beijing’s Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery and offer condolences to Zhu’s family


Party elite attend ceremony at Beijing’s Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery and offer condolences to Zhu’s family.


Chinese President Xi Jinping leads party elite in final farewell for ex-premier Zhu Rongji

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Party elite attend ceremony at Beijing’s Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery and offer condolences to Zhu’s family

Party elite attend ceremony at Beijing’s Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery and offer condolences to Zhu’s family