Foreword (2)

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For scholars outside of China, the publication of this book stands as a significant contribution to the historical record. On major debates over China’s reform path, which English-speaking readers once knew of only in general terms, Zhu sheds considerable historical light. He publishes here his written instructions to colleagues and transcripts of his internal remarks on policy issues. These include Zhu’s watershed March 1992 analysis of Deng Xiaoping’s “Southern Tour” talks, in which Zhu stressed—at a crucial period in China’s internal debate—the imperative of bold but sustainable growth. This candid discussion earned a crucial endorsement from Jiang Zemin, who ordered it distributed to cadres nationwide, and it became the basis for many of Zhu’s subsequent efforts. Scholars will have a chance to study too the conclusions Zhu drew from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the lessons he distilled for China’s policy course.

Zhu Rongji on the Record also functions as a case study in practical statecraft. Because China’s reform program was so sweeping, and the projects being implemented were of such scale and complexity, Zhu had occasion to reflect on almost every aspect of modern economic management and social development. The problems addressed in this book range across industries—railways, coal, finance, automobile manufacturing, real estate—and their relevance reaches well beyond China. Economists, business strategists, and policymakers will all find in these pages thought-provoking examples of how a penetrating mind grappled with one of the most significant reform programs in modern history. They will appreciate the creativity of his proposals, the scope and ambition of his vision, his resoluteness in crisis, and his strategic acuity—marked by a determination, as Zhu puts it, to “unify our thinking, and see the entire country as one single chessboard.”

For many years now I have been fortunate to count Premier Zhu as a friend, and to learn from his insights. It brings great satisfaction to know that with this edition of Zhu Rongji on the Record, a broader audience of English-speaking readers will be able to appreciate his vigorous personality and acute analyses.

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