KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today expressed his condolences to the family of former Premier of the People’s Republic of China Zhu Rongji, who passed away at the age of 97.
Anwar described Zhu as one of the great architects of China’s economic transformation and a good friend, saying his reforms had helped accelerate the country’s rise as an economic superpower.
“China has lost one of the great architects of its economic transformation, and I have lost a good friend. It was Zhu’s reforms that helped accelerate China’s extraordinary rise as an economic superpower,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Anwar said that in the 1990s, he and Zhu had worked together to deepen economic and financial ties between Malaysia and China, with much of what was built during that era continuing to underpin bilateral relations today.
“In the 1990s, Zhu and I worked together to deepen economic and financial ties between Malaysia and China. Much of what we built in that era still underpins our relationship today,” he said.
Anwar also recalled personal memories of Zhu, including visits to Confucius’ home village, Tai Shan and historic sites associated with Admiral Zheng He, as well as a visit to his home library during which Zhu presented him with several Chinese classics he had personally selected.
“Zhu was a formidable statesman, but I will remember him above all as a man of great character, driven by a fierce sense of duty to his nation. My deepest condolences go to his wife, his children and to the people of China,” he said.
Zhu served as China's Premier from 1998 to 2003 and was widely recognised for engineering major market-oriented reforms, restructuring state-owned enterprises, and steering the country's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
-- BERNAMA