Portrait of Zhou Enlai
Left · Leader · From history

Zhou Enlai

Premier of China, 1949 to 1976

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Mao's longtime deputy and diplomat who helped arrange the opening to the United States in 1972.

Zhou Enlai sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: strongly state-led and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly secular on religion and strongly state-led on economy. The profile is close to the middle on culture.

Read more about Zhou Enlai on Wikipedia →

Where Zhou Enlai sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyStrongly state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureCentered on culture
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentSlightly growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceLeaning strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionStrongly secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismSlightly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Zhou Enlai

Josip Broz Tito Leader of Yugoslavia, 1945 to 198098%Miguel Díaz-Canel President of Cuba, 2019 to present (First Secretary of the Communist Party since 2021)97%Tô Lâm General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, 2024 to present (President since 2026)96%Deng Xiaoping Paramount leader of China, 1978 to 199296%Thongloun Sisoulith President of Laos, 2021 to present (General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party)95%Han Fei Chinese Legalist philosopher, c. 280 to 233 BCE94%Xi Jinping General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, 2012 to present93%Kassym-Jomart Tokayev President of Kazakhstan, 2019 to present92%

People furthest from Zhou Enlai

Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 19103%Murray Rothbard American economist, 1926 to 19955%Dorothy Day American journalist and Catholic Worker founder, 1897 to 19805%Ron Paul US Representative from Texas, 1997 to 20136%

Political views closest to Zhou Enlai

State capitalismUses a strong state to steer a market economy toward rapid growth, often limiting…95%KemalismTurkey's founding ideology of secular, nationalist and state-led modernization.91%TechnocracyPrefers that trained experts rather than politicians make key decisions.85%Marxism-LeninismAims at a classless society through revolution and a single party ruling on behalf of…84%

Read more about Zhou Enlai

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Biographies of Zhou EnlaiBooks on state capitalism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: President (1969-1974 : Nixon). White House Photo Office. 1969-1974; General Services Administration. National Archives and Records Service. Office of Presidential Libraries. Office of Presidential Papers. 1/20/1969-ca. 12/1974, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.