China Bids Farewell to Zhu Rongji, Architect of Economic Reforms

Beijing held a state funeral on Tuesday for former Premier Zhu Rongji, who died last week at the age of 97. The national flag was lowered, and a tightly controlled ceremony took place at the Babaoshan crematorium, a resting place for top officials and national heroes.

President Xi Jinping and the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee stood in silence and made three bows before the cremation. Former President Hu Jintao, who has been absent from recent public events, sent a wreath of condolence.

Security was visibly heightened across the capital, especially along the route from Tiananmen Square and the Zhongnanhai leadership compound to the crematorium.

Zhu served as vice premier from 1991 to 1998 and as premier from 1998 to 2003. He is credited with curbing runaway inflation, overhauling the tax and banking systems, and pushing through a sweeping restructuring of state-owned enterprises. Those reforms, while painful, eliminated millions of jobs at unprofitable firms but also paved the way for China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.

His death has stirred deep nostalgia on social media, with many recalling an era of rapid growth and opening. However, a minority voiced lingering anger over the layoffs. One since-deleted post from a self-described child of laid-off workers said they would raise a glass. Others defended him, noting his own admission that while many admired him, some "hate me to the core."

The mourning has been carefully managed, reflecting official caution about public displays of grief for popular leaders. Historical precedents, such as the outpouring after the deaths of Zhou Enlai in 1976 and Hu Yaobang in 1989, show how such moments can turn political. Still, for many, the moment is personal. One Beijing IT worker observed that people seemed genuinely moved, taken back to the hopes of two decades ago.