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

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, who helped engineer one of the greatest economic reforms in human history, has died. He was 97. Zhu, who served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, is remembered for tackling corruption, shaking up the centrally planned economy and overhauling the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector. He was the mastermind behind negotiations for China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) entry in 2001, which opened China up to the international market and ushered in major…