Hong Kong and Macao lowered flags to half-mast on Tuesday as the two special administrative regions paid tribute to the late former premier Zhu Rongji, who was cremated in Beijing.

Zhu, the Chinese premier from 1998 to 2003 following a seven-year stint as vice-premier, died at the age of 98 on Wednesday in Beijing.

The flags — both national and those of the Hong Kong SAR — at Hong Kong’s government headquarters in Admiralty, Government House, all border checkpoints, and the airport were lowered to half-staff, as were flags at Macao’s Government Headquarters, Santa Sancha, and boundary crossings.

The tributes were held in keeping with the central government’s overarching arrangements for mourning the late statesman. The national flag was also flown at half-staff at a host of other sites across the country — including Tiananmen Square, Xinhua Gate, the Great Hall of the People and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing — alongside provincial government locations and China’s embassies and consulates overseas.

ALSO READ: HKSAR society pays tribute to former premier

Zhu, serving under Jiang Zemin — the Chinese president from 1993 to 2003 — helped forge the basis of the nation’s economic superpower trajectory, notably steering the nation through its 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization.

Zhu made multiple visits to Hong Kong and Macao while in office, holding different leadership roles. In September 1997 — just months after Hong Kong’s return to the motherland — he visited the city to speak at the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Two years later, on the night of Dec 19, 1999, he attended the handover ceremony in Macao, when Portugal formally returned the territory to Chinese sovereignty.

Since the news of his passing broke, officials and community figures in the two SARs have offered their respects to the late premier, with many praising his enduring legacy in propelling the country’s economic growth and social progress.

READ MORE: HK, Macao SARs mourn Zhu, praising his support

In a joint obituary by major state institutions and bodies of the Communist Party of China, Zhu was lauded as an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com