Becoming Premier
After Deng’s death, Jiang Zemin and Zhu become China’s President and Premier. In addition to the economy, Zhu added maintaining domestic stability to his list of duties.
Posts Categorized: Chapter 13
Zhu’s Record: SOE Reform
Zhu confronted China’s ancient and dilapidated State-Owned Enterprise system, letting some fail, bailing out others, and gradually pushing the economy in a more private direction. But Zhu hesistated to call his plan a “privatization,” fearing that rapid reform could lead to an East German or Soviet-style collapse. Beijing University Economist Yao Yang discusses this euphemism:
Zhu’s Record: Banking Reform
Zhu next took on China’s banking sector, putting himself in charge, and overseeing China’s first IPOs and joint ventures. Francis Leung, from CVC Capital Partners, discusses the effect on investors in Hong Kong.