Zhu Rongji left Asia a blueprint — and it still works

When Zhu Rongji died in Beijing on August 12 at the age of 97, Asia lost one of the finest public servants of its modern era. He was the premier who opened China to the world, the plain-spoken technocrat who took his country into the World Trade Organization in December 2001 after almost 15 years of talks.

The tributes have reached for the big numbers, and the numbers are extraordinary. But the most valuable thing he left behind is smaller and more useful than any of them: a method any government in Asia can copy. Make a binding promise to the outside world, then use it to win the arguments you cannot win at home.

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