Beijing (CNN) — Zhu Rongji, the steely former Chinese premier whose bold economic reforms propelled the country’s rise as a global powerhouse, has died. He was 97.

Zhu, who served as premier from 1998 to 2003, died of illness in Beijing on Wednesday morning, according to state news agency Xinhua. He is survived by his wife and their two children.

Known as China’s “economic czar,” Zhu led the country to embrace market liberalization and globalization, steering its transition from a centrally planned backwater to a more open and market-friendly economy.

In some ways his death marks the end of a more economically optimistic era for many Chinese who witnessed their country’s sweeping transformation during its reformist years. Those reforms led to huge reduction in poverty, an exploding middle class and a scramble by foreign companies to access the lucrative Chinese market.

Now, the world’s second largest economy is losing steam after decades of unprecedented growth spearheaded by leaders like Zhu, who fearlessly carried out paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s vision of “reform and opening.”

The ruling Communist Party’s official obituary hailed Zhu’s role during a “crucial stage” when the country was “transitioning from a planned economy to a socialist market economy.” It also noted Zhu’s “deep affection” for the people.

“He emphasized that government officials must always bear in mind that they are public servants; they should have the courage to speak the truth without fear of offending others, (and) eschew special privileges … while making every effort to deliver tangible results for the people,” it said.

Zhu steered China’s economic policy for more than a decade since the early 1990s, first as a vice premier and then the premier under late leader Jiang Zemin, who died in late 2022.

A dogged technocrat, Zhu pushed through a barrage of painful yet necessary reforms to liberalize the economy, from a substantial overhaul of the country’s fiscal and taxation regime to a drastic shakeup of its bloated state sector.

Internationally, he was best remembered for leading China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, paving the way for double-digit growth that has fueled China’s rise as a major global power.

Zhu’s uncompromising approach, tough pragmatism and firm stance against corruption earned him admirers as well as enemies in the party – and the nickname the “iron-fisted premier.” His sharp tongue, quick wit and hot temper also won him popular support in a nation accustomed to scripted speeches by officials.

“No matter whether there is a minefield or an abyss ahead of me, I will move forward without hesitation, and I will do my best until I die,” he famously told a press conference in 1998 after becoming premier, the country’s No.2 leader.

Born in the southern province of Hunan, Zhu graduated from China’s prestigious Tsinghua University with a degree in electrical engineering and landed a job at the state planning agency.

Like many in his generation Zhu’s early career was upended by the political upheavals of the Mao Zedong era. He was expelled from the Communist Party in the late 1950s for criticising the government’s economic policies – and purged again during Mao’s Cultural Revolution a decade later.

After Mao’s death, Zhu was politically rehabilitated and allowed to rejoin the party. He rose through a string of economic posts to become the mayor of Shanghai in 1988, where his work caught the eye of Deng. In 1991, he was tapped to manage the economy as a vice premier and was promoted to premier seven years later.

Zhu tamed rampant inflation, overhauled the currency system and weathered the Chinese economy through Asia’s financial crisis in 1997.

But his aggressive reform policies were often controversial.

His push to streamline inefficient state-owned enterprises led to the layoff of an estimated 40 million workers. His bid to bring China into the WTO also came under fire from officials who blamed him for making too many concessions – some even accused him of selling out the country.

Ultimately Zhu proved his critics wrong. Joining the WTO was a watershed moment in China’s integration into the world economy, analysts say, opening the country up to more global trade and investment that spurred unprecedented growth in years to come.

In the foreword of an anthology of Zhu’s writings and speeches, the late US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger hailed the former premier as “a penetrating mind” who “grappled with one of the most significant reform programs in modern history.”

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