Chinese politician, prime minister from 1980,
and secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) 1987-89. His reforms included
self-management and incentives for workers
and factories. He lost his secretaryship and
other posts after the Tiananmen Square
massacre in Beijing June 1989. Zhao, son of a
wealthy landlord from Henan province, joined
the Communist Youth League 1932 and worked
underground as a CCP official during the
liberation war 1937-49. He rose to prominence
in the party in Guangdong from 1951. As a
supporter of the reforms of Liu Shaoqi, he
was dismissed during the 1966-69 Cultural
Revolution, paraded through Canton in a
dunce's cap, and sent to Inner Mongolia. He
was rehabilitated by Zhou Enlai 1973 and sent
to China's largest province, Sichuan, as
first party secretary 1975. Here he
introduced radical and successful
market-oriented rural reforms. Deng Xiaoping
had him inducted into the Politburo 1977.
After six months as vice premier, Zhao was
appointed prime minister 1980 and assumed, in
addition, the post of CCP general secretary
Jan 1987. His economic reforms were
criticized for causing inflation, and his
liberal views of the pro-democracy
demonstrations that culminated in the student
occupation of Tiananmen Square led to his
downfall.