Zhu Rongji, who helped turn China into a trading giant, dies at 97

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has died at the age of 97. During his time in office from 1998 to 2003, Zhu steered China's accession to the World Trade Organization, a step widely regarded as a turning point in the country's integration into the global trading system.

Zhu launched sweeping reforms of the state banking system during his tenure, restructured loss-making state enterprises, and pursued policies that encouraged foreign investment. Those measures caused short-term economic pain in some sectors, but are credited with laying the foundation for China's later emergence as the world's manufacturing hub.

In Hong Kong, Zhu is remembered in particular for the support he extended to the territory during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, when his government helped defend the currency peg against speculative attacks. His death is being described as the loss of a leader who presided over a defining period of China's economic transformation, prompting an outpouring of tributes across the country.