Zhu has spent his entire political career in Guangdong province.

[1] Zhu was born in 1953 in Guangzhou; he traces his ancestry to Wenzhou, Zhejiang.

He began his career at the Guangzhou musical instruments factory, where he first joined the Communist Youth League.

In 1977, he entered the municipal Communist Youth League organization of Guangzhou as a functionary.

In 2016, upon leaving the office of governor, Zhu was made a vice chair of the National People's Congress Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.