Written by Allen T. Cheng - Published by South China Morning Post on 02/28/2003

His unwavering faith in the party impressed his superiors, and his style made him popular with the people

Zhu Rongji will go down in history as a leader who helped create the foundations of modern China.

Some say he is the modern version of both Zhuge Liang, a three kingdoms period strategist, and Bao Zheng, the Song dynasty judge who meted out justice with a fair hand and a compassionate heart.

Laurence Brahm, the author of Zhu Rongji and the Transformation of Modern China, compares Mr Zhu to late premier Zhou Enlai, a national hero who helped save China from the excesses of Maoist fanaticism during the Cultural Revolution.

“Zhou is looked upon as someone who was a rational voice during the Cultural Revolution, whereas Zhu is Hunanese, a strong-minded figure who helped push China down the road of reform,” said Brahm.

What made Mr. Zhu stand out were his personal characteristics. Chief among his asserts is a photographic memory, which a US State Department official once described as “Rolls-Royce”.

During a meeting with former US president Bill Clinton, Mr. Zhu impressed the White House press corps by getting up and speaking for more than half an hour without notes, while the US president read his speech verbatim on live national TV.

Mr. Zhu also has a sense of humor, even under intense pressure. Brahm recalls how the premier remained cheerful even when US Secretary of State Colin Powell called China a “strategic competitor”.

“[Powell’s speech] discredited everything the Clinton administration did,” said Brahm. “I remember Zhu said to me, “Come now, and remember that all the green berets US soldiers wear are made in China. If we weren’t partners, we wouldn’t make those hats’. It’s an example of his sense of humor. He was quite angry, but he remained sardonic. It was black humor.”

The premier’s black humor comes after years of suffering Twice he was purged.

During the Great Leap Forward, he was labeled a rightist for criticizing Chairman Mao Zedong’s policies. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to the farms to feed pigs and to lay phone lines for his outspoken attitude.

However, he bounced back after Deng Xiaoping overthrew the Gang of Four and ended the Cultural Revolution in 1976.

Brahm, an American lawyer, who has lived in Beijing for 20 years and his personal friend and biographer of the premier; said: “The fact that he went up and down many times and stuck to the faith and belief [in the party] in part of the reason why Deng picked him to run China’s economy.”

Mr. Zhu was the mayor of Shanghai when Deng chose Jiang Zemin,, then Shanghai party secretary Zhao Ziyang in 1991.

Mr. Zhu then followed Mr. Jiang back to Beijing. Although Mr. Zhu graduated in electrical engineering at Tsinghua University in 1951, he spent the bulk of his career as a state planning official

He first served in the northeastern province as a junior cadre, then became an official of the State Planning Commission in 1952, where he climbed (and tell off) the ropes until 1975. From 1970 to 1975 he served in hard labor camps for disgraced cadres. After the Cultural Revolution ended, he returned to his role as a state planner at the State Economic Commission, where he served in various roles until 1987, when he was sent to shanghai.

It was under Mr. Zhu that Shanghai really began to take off. He studied the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and proposed to Deng that the experiment be brought to Shanghai.

“What impressed Deng the most was that Zhu didn’t have just manufacturing in mind,” said Brahm. “Zhu specifically was thinking of building a service-centered economy focusing on finance in Shanghai.”

Mr. Zhu has a history of involvement in China’s state planned economics, which made him the ideal person to oversee China’s conversion to market economics.

Mr. Zhu does not just blindly follow the theoreticians. He imbues his policies with a human touch. When asked what affects his decisions the most, he once replied: “I always consider the social/psychological effect on people. At the end of the day, no matter how many economies involved, if you can’t get people to buy into it, it doesn’t stick. Then it fails.”

A great economist he might be, but Brahm believes the premier’s biggest contribution to China was not economic.

“His top contribution was that he was the first of the senior leaders who was willing to step down,” Brahm said.

Mr. Zhu made it clear as early as 2001 that he would serve until the end of his term, but would not seek an extension.

By persistently referring to the fact that he was willing to step down, Mr. Zhu in effect forced the other senior leaders to step down as well. “It triggered the institutionalization of the political process in China.” said Brahm. It allowed the smooth handover of power to the fourth generation.”

Back to Top