Former Chinese Leader Jiang Zemin Dies Aged 96, Reports Say
08:14 GMT 30.11.2022 (Updated: 09:45 GMT 30.11.2022)
© AFP 2023 / MIKE FIALA
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BEIJING (Sputnik) - Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin has died at the age of 96, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.
The broadcaster reported that Jiang Zemin suffered from leukemia complicated by multiple organ failure, it was impossible to save him. He died on November 30, 2022 at 12:13 p.m. local time (04:13 GMT) in Shanghai at the age of 96.
Jiang Zemin was born on August 17, 1926, in Yangzhou in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Little is known about his family. In 1946, he joined the Communist Party of China (CPC). A year later, he graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering of Jiao Tong University (Shanghai), one of the country's leading universities. In the early '80s, he held senior positions in the State Exports Controls and the Foreign Investment Commission. In 1985, he became mayor of Shanghai and served as secretary of the CPC’s Shanghai Municipal Committee in 1987.
Political Path
Jiang has been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and general secretary of the CPC’s Central Committee since June 1989. In November of the same year, he became chairman of the Military Council of the CPC Central Committee.
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks as former president Jiang Zemin reads a document during the closing session of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 24, 2017.
© AFP 2023 / GREG BAKER
In April 1990, he was named chairman of the Central Military Council of the PRC, and on March 27, 1993, chairman of the PRC. On November 14, 2002, Jiang Zemin officially resigned as general secretary of the CPC’s Central Committee while on March 15, 2003, he also resigned from the highest state post – at the time Hu Jintao was elected chairman of the PRC.
Contribution to the Development of the PRC
Jiang Zemin, as chairman of the PRC, pursued Deng Xiaoping's course of building "socialism with Chinese characteristics," which implied liberal reforms in the economy while maintaining party control over the political sphere.
During the period in which Jiang Zemin led the party and the state, the Chinese economy continued to show impressive growth rates, adding 10% to its GDP on average. It was also the time of major domestic political events such as the reunification with Hong Kong in 1997 and Macao in 1999, the accession to the WTO in 2001, the successful recovery from the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 and the withdrawal from the WTO in 2001.
Russia and China
Jiang played an important role in establishing relations between Russia and China. The result of this process was the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation during his visit to Russia in July 2001.
This file photo taken on December 2, 2002 shows Chinese President Jiang Zemin (R) shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
© AFP 2023 / FREDERIC BROWN
He was also among the foremost advocates for the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO, 2001).
He could speak Russian, Romanian and English fluently, as well as read Japanese and French.
