Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has passed away. US Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, expressed condolences in a bilingual (Chinese and English) message on social media. This is the first official response from the United States regarding the news of Zhu Rongji's death.
On the afternoon of the 14th, Nicholas Burns posted a message of condolence on the X platform in both English and Chinese, and the official Weibo account of the US Embassy in China later uploaded a related screenshot.
In his Chinese post, he wrote: "Deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of former Premier Zhu Rongji. I sincerely express my condolences to his family, the Chinese government, and the people of China."
Zhu Rongji passed away in Beijing on the 12th at the age of 98, after medical treatment failed to save him.
After the death of former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in October 2023, then US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns also expressed condolences. At that time, US officials announced that President Biden had expressed condolences to then Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the occasion of Li Keqiang’s passing during a meeting between the two sides.