Zhu Rongji, the former Premier who spearheaded China's economic reforms, has died at the age of 97. He led reforms in finance, taxation, finance, and state-owned enterprises during the transition to a Chinese socialist market economy, and played a major role in negotiations for WTO accession. Zhu Rongji served as Mayor and Party Secretary of Shanghai, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Governor of the People's Bank of China before serving as Premier of the State Council from 1998 to 2003. The Chinese authorities described Zhu Rongji as an "outstanding proletarian revolutionary and statesman" and remembered his life as "revolutionary, combative, and glorious."
