China gave former premier Zhu Rongji a state funeral marked by flags at half-staff over Tiananmen Square and an appearance by Xi Jinping and other senior leaders, who bowed three times before a bier draped in the Communist Party flag. The ceremony underscored both Zhu’s place in the country’s 1990s economic opening and the political sensitivity surrounding his legacy. Zhu, who helped steer China toward a more market-based economy during a period of rapid growth, is widely associated with an era seen by many Chinese as more candid, pragmatic and open to debate. His funeral, coming just after commemorations tied to Jiang Zemin’s centenary, has revived nostalgia for that period and invited implicit comparisons with a present marked by economic strain, weaker prospects for young people and tighter Communist Party control over business and public discourse. The party has sought to claim Zhu’s legacy of economic reform, but the moment also risks stirring memories of a time when senior leaders were seen as more willing to tolerate candor and a measure of independence from the party line. Analysts say that makes public mourning for Zhu politically delicate as Beijing tries to celebrate past achievements without encouraging criticism of the current direction.