He was an influential political figure throughout the PRC, having been a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party since 1956. He fell from favour after the Cultural Revolution but was made finance minister in 1973, and started early moves to a market-based economy. For some years he was a deputy prime minister.
He was the father-in-law of Jiang Zemin.
He is considered as one of the Eight Immortals of Communist China.