China Says Goodbye to Former Leader Zhu Rongji

China's former premier Zhu Rongji was cremated in Beijing on August 18, 2026, at age 98. Flags flew at half-mast nationwide and security tightened across major cities. Zhu died August 12 after illness. As premier from 1998 to 2003, he steered China into the global trade body WTO and reshaped government-run companies — changes that cost tens of millions of workers their jobs.