Economic Reform

Did Zhu Rongji take on China’s hardest reforms?

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji confronted some of China’s most difficult reforms, taking on vested interests and deep-rooted problems while pushing the country towards a more market-oriented, open and institutionalised economy, says academic Gu Qingyang.

Gu Qingyang

17 Aug 2026

What Zhu Rongji got right — and what he left unfinished

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji changed China without changing its political system. His reforms laid the foundations for decades of growth, but also imposed painful costs and left a legacy of unresolved problems. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong examines the issue.

Han Yong Hong

14 Aug 2026

China’s rural decline: The missing chapter in Zhu Rongji’s legacy

Nostalgia paints the late former Premier Zhu Rongji as China’s ultimate reformer. But a closer look at the 1990s reveals severe policy reversals that left the vast rural population behind. Professor Yasheng Huang analyses the missing piece of the picture.

Yasheng Huang

14 Aug 2026

Zhu Rongji’s death triggers China’s ‘superpolitics’

The close proximity in timing of the death of former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, the commemoration of former President Jiang Zemin’s 100th birth anniversary and the upcoming fifth plenum may give Zhongnanhai some cause for worry, says commentator Deng Yuwen.

Deng Yuwen

13 Aug 2026

[Video] Zhu Rongji: The iron-fisted premier who reshaped China’s economy

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji reshaped China’s economy through sweeping reforms that came at a heavy social cost. His forceful style earned him the “economic tsar” label, but his legacy also reflects the limits of his power. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han reports.

Miao Zong-Han

13 Aug 2026

Zhu Rongji: A legacy of transforming China’s economy and forging relations with ASEAN

A key standard-bearer of 1990s economic reform, former Premier Zhu Rongji, who passed away on 12 August, leaves a lasting imprint on China’s taxation, state-owned enterprises, accession to the World Trade Organization, and even on ASEAN. Lianhe Zaobao’s Sim Tze Wei and Tan Ke-Yang take a look at his legacy.

Sim Tze Wei, Tan Ke-Yang

13 Aug 2026

Deflation: Beijing’s blind spot or its strategy?

China’s deflation reflects both weak demand and deliberate industrial strategy. But the model depends on consumption eventually catching up, raising questions over sustainability and regional spillovers for Southeast Asia. Researcher Genevieve Donnellon-May explains.

Genevieve Donnellon-May

18 May 2026

How Singapore’s ‘chief architect’ helped shape reform in China

When Singapore’s former deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee became an adviser to China in the 1980s, he brought more than policy know-how — he helped shape its reform era. Caixin Global journalists tell us how Goh’s quiet influence has left a lasting mark on both nations.

Caixin Global

07 Nov 2025

The fourth plenum and the future of China’s economy

As Beijing readies its 15th Five-Year Plan, the fourth plenum sets the tone for China’s next decade — a vision of growth fused with security and social equity. The goal: modernisation by 2035, not through disruption, but through disciplined reinvention. East Asian Institute senior research fellow Bo Chen explores the economic strategies in the communique.

Bo Chen

27 Oct 2025

Slow burn: China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and the art of endurance

Amid global uncertainty, Beijing’s 15th Five-Year Plan doesn’t promise a new miracle — but mastery through control. With AI, clean tech, and quiet confidence, China’s path is less about catching up to the West than outlasting it. Economist Alicia García Herrero offers her read.

Alicia García Herrero

24 Oct 2025

From AI to outer space: Inside China’s ambitious 15th Five-Year Plan

Beijing’s 15th Five-Year Plan puts “high-quality development” front and centre — fusing AI-driven industry, stronger domestic demand, and even ambitions to become a “spacefaring nation”. Can this new vision secure China’s next economic miracle? Lianhe Zaobao correspondents Sim Tze Wei and Yush Chau report from Beijing.

Sim Tze Wei, Yush Chau

24 Oct 2025

[Big read] With real estate’s heyday over, China hunts for its next growth engine

From a plot of land to a new home, it does not just involve China’s real estate sector alone, but an entire system. If a critical link in the system goes wrong, related parties would come under pressure. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Liu Sha takes a look at how the upstream and downstream real estate industrial chain has been affected by the sector’s slump.

Liu Sha

20 Aug 2025