Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, the driver of the nation’s economic reforms, died on Wednesday aged 97 following an illness. Zhu spearheaded China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), paving the way for an export boom that fuelled the country’s transformation into the world’s second-biggest economy. He also oversaw domestic market reforms that included closing hundreds of loss-making state enterprises and laying off some 30 million workers. The former Shanghai mayor was...

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, the driver of the nation’s economic reforms, died on Wednesday aged 97 following an illness. Zhu spearheaded China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), paving the way for an export boom that fuelled the country’s transformation into the world’s second-biggest economy. He also oversaw domestic market reforms that included closing hundreds of loss-making state enterprises and laying off some 30 million workers. The former Shanghai mayor was...

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a Nato-like defence agreement in Mecca as the United States’ war on Iran prompts countries in the region to rethink security arrangements. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement stipulates that “any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all”, the three countries said in a joint statement. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz...

China announced new drone supply chain export controls and counter-sanctions against seven American firms in retaliation for US trade restrictions imposed last week targeting Chinese companies. Sales to United States entities of “drones, their key components and related technologies” will be subject to “strict case-by-case scrutiny”, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday, with the measures taking effect immediately. They amount to a tightening of restrictions first implemented in 2023 and...