Bangladesh, Aug. 13 -- "I will be sure to work conscientiously and diligently until I take my last breath." These words, spoken with the trademark grit that defined his career, were more than a politician's promise; they were the personal creed of Zhu Rongji. Following the death of the former Chinese Premier at the age of 98, the world reflects on a man described in his official obituary as a "time-tested and loyal communist fighter" and a "towering economic reformer" who steered the world's most populous nation from the shadow of a planned economy into the blinding light of global modernity.

Zhu's journey was inextricably entwined with the story of China's own rejuvenation. To understand the statesman who stood firm against the 1997 Asi...