View source for Jiang Zemin

{{Short description|Leader of China from 1989 to 2002}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Family name hatnote|[[Jiang (surname 江)|Jiang]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Jiang Zemin
| native_name         = {{Nobold|江泽民}}
| native_name_lang    = zh-Hans
| image               = Vladimir Putin with Jiang Zemin-9 (cropped portrait).png
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = Jiang in 2002
| office              = [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]]
| term_start          = 24 June 1989
| term_end            = 15 November 2002
| predecessor         = [[Zhao Ziyang]]
| successor           = [[Hu Jintao]]
| office1             = [[President of China]]
| term_start1         = 27 March 1993
| term_end1           = 15 March 2003
| predecessor1        = [[Yang Shangkun]]
| premier1            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Li Peng]]
* [[Zhu Rongji]]
}}
| vicepresident1      = {{Plain list|
* [[Rong Yiren]]
* Hu Jintao
}}
| successor1          = [[Hu Jintao]]
| office2             = [[Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)|Chairman of the Central Military Commission]]
| deputy2             = {{Collapsible list
|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
|bullets=
|[[Cao Gangchuan]] (2002–2005)
|[[Guo Boxiong]] (2002–2005)
[[Hu Jintao]] (1999–2004)
|[[Chi Haotian]] (1995–2003)
|[[Zhang Wannian]] (1995–2003)
|[[Liu Huaqing]] (1989–1998)
|[[Zhang Zhen (general)|Zhang Zhen]] (1992–1998)
|Yang Shangkun (1989–1993)
}}
| term2               = {{plainlist|
* {{longitem|{{ubl|'''Party Commission:'''}} {{avoid wrap|9 November 1989 – 19 September 2004}}}}
* {{longitem|{{ubl|'''State Commission:'''}} {{avoid wrap|19 March 1990 – 8 March 2005}}}}
}}
| predecessor2        = [[Deng Xiaoping]]
| successor2          = [[Hu Jintao]]
| office3             = [[Party Secretary of Shanghai]]
| term_start3         = 27 November 1987
| term_end3           = 1 August 1989
| predecessor3        = [[Rui Xingwen]]
| successor3          = Zhu Rongji
| office4             = [[Mayor of Shanghai]]
| term_start4         = 29 June 1985
| term_end4           = 22 December 1987
| predecessor4        = Wang Daohan
| successor4          = [[Huang Ju]]
| office5             = Minister of Electrics Industry
| term_start5         = 20 June 1983
| term_end5           = 14 June 1985
| premier5            = Zhao Ziyang
| predecessor5        = [[Zhang Ting (politician)|Zhang Ting]]
| successor5          = [[Li Tieying]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|08|17}}
| birth_place         = [[Yangzhou]], Jiangsu, China
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2022|11|30|1926|8|17|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Jing'an District]], Shanghai, China
| party               = [[Chinese Communist Party]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Wang Yeping]]|1949}}
| children            = [[Jiang Mianheng]] (son)
| mother              = [[Wu Yueqing]] ({{lang|zh-hans|吴月清}}) <!-- (1897–1978) -->
| profession          = [[Electrical engineer]]
| signature           = Signature of Jiang Zemin.svg
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Jiang Zemin at press conference with Bill Clinton (1997).ogg|title=Jiang Zemin's voice|type=speech|description=Jiang during a press conference with Bill Clinton<br />Recorded 29 October 1997}}
| module2             = {{Infobox Chinese
| child = yes
| pic = Jiang Zemin (Chinese characters).svg
| piccap="Jiang Zemin" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
| picupright = 0.5
| s = 江泽民
| t = 江澤民
| p = Jiāng Zémín
| w = Chiang<sup>1</sup> Tzê<sup>2</sup>-min<sup>2</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|j|iang|1|-|z|e|2|.|m|in|2}}
| j = Gong<sup>1</sup> Zaak<sup>6</sup>-maan<sup>4</sup>
| y = Gōng Jaahk-màahn
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|g|ong|1|-|z|aak|6|.|m|aan|4}}
| poj = Kang Tik-bîn
| order = st
| c = 
| altname = 
}}
| footnotes           = {{Collapsible list
|titlestyle= background-color:#FCF;text-align:center;
|title=Central institution membership
|bullets=on
| 1989–2002: [[13th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|13th]], [[14th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|14th]], [[15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|15th]] Politburo Standing Committee
| 1989–2005: 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th Central Military Commission
| 1987–2002: 13th, 14th, 15th Politburo
| 1983–2002: [[12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|12th]], [[13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|13th]], [[14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|14th]], [[15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|15th]] Central Committee
| 1988–2008: [[7th National People's Congress|7th]], [[8th National People's Congress|8th]], [[9th National People's Congress|9th]], [[10th National People's Congress|10th]], [[11th National People's Congress|11th]] National People's Congress
}}
----
{{Collapsible list
|titlestyle= background-color:#FCF;text-align:center;
|title=Other political offices held
|bullets=on
| 1987–89: Communist Party Committee Secretary, [[Politics of Shanghai|Shanghai]]
| 1984–87: Mayor, Shanghai
| 1983–85: Minister, Ministry of Electronic Industries
}}
----
<div class="center">'''[[Paramount leader|Paramount Leader of <br /> the People's Republic of China]]'''<br />
{{flatlist|
*{{big|'''←'''}} [[Deng Xiaoping]]
*[[Hu Jintao]] {{big|'''→'''}}
}}
</div>
| awards              = [[List of awards and honours received by Jiang Zemin|Full list]]
| education           = {{no wrap|[[National Central University]]}} (transferred)<br />[[Shanghai Jiao Tong University|National Chiao Tung University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
}}
{{Jiang Zemin sidebar}}
'''Jiang Zemin'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|dʒ|iː|'|ɑː|ŋ|_|z|ə|'|m|ɪ|n}}; {{lang-zh|s=江泽民|c=|t=|p=Jiāng Zémín}}, traditionally romanized as  '''Chiang Tze-min'''}} (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|general secretary]] of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as [[Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)|chairman]] of the [[Central Military Commission (China)|Central Military Commission]] from 1989 to 2004, and as [[president of China]] from 1993 to 2003. Jiang was the fourth [[paramount leader]] of [[History of the People's Republic of China (1989–2002)|China]] from 1989 to 2002. He was the [[Leadership core|core leader]] of the [[Generations of Chinese leadership|third generation]] of Chinese leadership, one of four core leaders alongside [[Mao Zedong]], [[Deng Xiaoping]], and [[Xi Jinping]].

Born in [[Yangzhou]], Jiangsu, Jiang grew up during the years of [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese occupation]]. He studied electrical engineering at the [[National Central University]], later transferring to the National Chiao Tung University; he joined the CCP while he was in college, and graduated in 1947. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he received training at the [[ZiL|Stalin Automobile Works]] in Moscow in the 1950s, later returning to Shanghai in 1962 to serve in various institutes, later being sent between 1970 and 1972 to Romania as part of an expert team to establish machinery manufacturing plants in the country. After 1979, he was appointed as the vice chair of two commissions by vice premier [[Gu Mu]] to oversee the newly established [[special economic zone]]s (SEZs). He became the vice minister of the newly established [[Fourth Ministry of Machine Building|Ministry of Electronics Industry]] and a member of the CCP Central Committee in 1982. Jiang was appointed as the [[List of mayors of Shanghai|mayor of Shanghai]] in 1985, later being promoted to its [[Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary|Communist Party secretary]], as well as a member of the CCP Politburo, in 1987.

Jiang came to power unexpectedly as a compromise candidate following the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]], when he replaced [[Zhao Ziyang]] as CCP general secretary after Zhao was ousted for his support for the student movement. Jiang also assumed the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission from Deng Xiaoping. As the involvement of the [[Eight Elders]] in Chinese politics steadily declined,<ref>{{cite news |last=Holley |first=David |title='Eight Elders' Wield Power Behind the Scenes in China |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-12-mn-393-story.html |access-date=30 November 2022 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=12 January 1992}}</ref> Jiang consolidated his hold on power to become the "paramount leader" and "core leader" in 1989.{{efn|"[[Paramount leader]]" is not a formal title; it is a reference occasionally used by media outlets and scholars to refer to the foremost political leader in China at a given time. For example, there is no consensus on when Hu Jintao became the paramount leader (2002–2012), as Jiang held the most powerful office in the military (i.e., Central Military Commission chairman) and did not relinquish all positions until 2005 to his successor, while Hu was the General Secretary of the Communist Party since 2002 and President of China since 2003.}} Urged by [[Deng Xiaoping's southern tour]] in 1992, Jiang officially introduced the term [[socialist market economy]] in his speech during the [[14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|14th CCP National Congress]] held later that year, which accelerated [[reform and opening up]]. In the economy, Jiang's administration oversaw the breaking of the [[iron rice bowl]], started several key infrastructure projects and privatized many [[State-owned enterprises of China|state-owned enterprises]]. Jiang prohibited the [[Business activities of the Chinese military|military engaging in business]], proposed the [[revitalize the country through science and education]] policy, and started various projects including [[Project 211]], and [[Project 985]] to improve education. In 1999, Jiang started a [[Persecution of Falun Gong|crack down]] on [[Falun Gong]]. In foreign policy, Jiang oversaw closer relations with Russia, with a [[2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship|friendship treaty]] signed in 2001, as well as the founding of the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]]. Relations with the United States were marked by tensions, due to the [[Third Taiwan Strait Crisis]] in 1996, the [[United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade|US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade]] in 1999 and the 2001 [[Hainan Island incident|Hainan island incident]].

Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced substantial economic growth with the continuation of market reforms. The [[Handover of Hong Kong|returning of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom]] in 1997 and of [[Handover of Macau|Macau from Portugal]] in 1999, and entry into the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2001, were landmark moments of his era. China also witnessed improved relations with the outside world, while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the state. His contributions to party doctrine, known as the [[Three Represents]], were written into the [[Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP constitution]] in 2002. Jiang gradually vacated his official leadership titles from 2002 to 2005, being succeeded in these roles by [[Hu Jintao]], although he and [[Shanghai clique|his political faction]] continued to influence affairs until much later. In 2022, Jiang died at the age of 96 in Shanghai; he was accorded a [[Death and state funeral of Jiang Zemin|state funeral]].

== Early life ==
Jiang Zemin was born in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu, on 17 August 1926.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRl1sWYShpcC&pg=RA4-PA339|title=Events That Formed the Modern World|first1=Frank W.|last1=Thackeray|first2=John E.|last2=Findling|date=31 May 2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1-59884-901-1|access-date=1 June 2017|archive-date=18 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018190103/https://books.google.com/books?id=BRl1sWYShpcC&pg=RA4-PA339|url-status=live}}</ref> His ancestral home was the Jiangcun Village ({{lang-zh|labels=no|江村}}) in [[Jingde County]], Anhui. This was also the hometown of a number of prominent figures in Chinese academic and intellectual establishments.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Yiping |last2=Lai |first2=Kun |last3=Feng |first3=Xuegang |title=The Problem of ' Guanxi ' for Actualizing Community Tourism: A Case Study of Relationship Networking in China |journal=Tourism Geographies |date=May 2007 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=117–119 |doi=10.1080/14616680701278489|s2cid=153691620 }}</ref> Jiang grew up during the years of [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese occupation]]. His uncle and foster father, [[Jiang Shangqing]], died fighting the Japanese and was considered in Jiang Zemin's time to be a national hero.<ref name=":322">{{Cite book |last=Hammond |first=Ken |title=China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future |publisher=1804 Books |year=2023 |isbn=9781736850084 |location=New York, NY |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=40}} After Shangqing's death, Zemin became his male heir.<ref>{{cite news |title=The New Emperor |url=http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/95/1229/feat4.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130112628/http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/95/1229/feat4.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 November 2022 |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=Asia NOW |date=29 December 1995}}</ref>

Jiang attended the Department of Electrical Engineering at the [[National Central University]] in Japanese-occupied [[Nanjing]] before transferring to National Chiao Tung University (now [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University]]). He graduated there in 1947 with a bachelor's degree in [[electrical engineering]].<ref name="time_obituary">{{cite magazine |last1=McDonald |first1=Joe |title=Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin Has Reportedly Died |url=https://time.com/6237657/jiang-zemin-dies/ |magazine=Time |access-date=30 November 2022 |language=en |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130090507/https://time.com/6237657/jiang-zemin-dies/ |url-status=dead|date=2022-11-30}}</ref> Jiang joined the Chinese Communist Party when he was in college.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.cengage.com/|title=Cengage Learning |access-date=6 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212194545/https://www.cengage.com/|archive-date=12 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Jiang received his training at the [[Zavod Imeni Likhacheva|Stalin Automobile Works]] in Moscow in the 1950s.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=66}} He also worked for Changchun's [[FAW Group|First Automobile Works]].{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=609}} As Jiang became increasingly involved in the Communist Party, his main work shifted from the technical side of engineering to administrative and political tasks.<ref name=":322" />{{Rp|page=140}}

== Early career ==
[[File:A Group of Chinese Engineering Experts in Romania (1972).jpg|thumb|Chinese engineering expert team in Romania; Jiang is third from left. (1972)]]
In 1962, he returned to Shanghai and became the deputy director of the Shanghai Electric Research Institute. In 1966, he was appointed as the director and deputy party secretary of a [[thermal engineering]] research institute in [[Wuhan]], which was established by the [[First Ministry of Machine Building]]. When the [[Cultural Revolution]] began in the same year, he did not suffer greatly during the turmoil, but was removed from his position as director of the institute and was sent to a [[May Seventh Cadre School]]. In 1970, after leaving the cadre school, he became the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the ministry and was sent to the [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]], where he served as head of the expert team to establish fifteen machinery manufacturing plants in the country. After the completion of his mission in 1972, he returned to China.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=76}}{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=82}}{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=84}}

In 1979, following a thawing of [[China–United States relations|diplomatic relations between China and the United States]], [[Deng Xiaoping]] decided to encourage [[special economic zone]]s (SEZs) as part of his [[Four Modernizations]].{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=101}} China's [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]] established two ministerial commissions to increase trade and foreign investment. The commissions were headed by vice premier [[Gu Mu]], who appointed Jiang as vice chairman of both commissions, a position equivalent to vice minister.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=102}} Jiang's role was to ensure these SEZs increased economic prosperity without becoming "conduits" for foreign ideology.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=102}} In 1980, Jiang headed a delegation which toured other SEZs in twelve countries; upon his return, he issued a radical report which recommended allowing local authorities to issue tax breaks and land leases, and increasing the power of [[International joint venture|foreign joint ventures]].{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=103}} The report initially "caused consternation" among party leaders, but his pragmatic and empirical presentation appealed to Deng Xiaoping. His proposals were approved at the National People's Congress, cementing Jiang as an "early implementer" of [[Deng Xiaoping Theory]].{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=104}}

In March 1982, he was pushed out as vice chairman of two commissions. After pressure from premier Gu and Shanghai mayor [[Wang Daohan]], "ardent reformist" Zhao Ziyang appointed Jiang as the first vice minister and party secretary of the newly established [[Fourth Ministry of Machine Building|Ministry of Electronics Industry.]]{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=105}}

At the [[12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|12th Party Congress]] held in September 1982, Jiang became a member of the [[Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|Central Committee of the CCP]], which determines policy and elects the members of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|Politburo]].{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=105}}

== Career in Shanghai ==
In 1985, a political reshuffle took place in Shanghai. Party Secretary [[Chen Guodong]] and Mayor [[Wang Daohan]] were both removed due to age issues. Instead, [[Rui Xingwen]] became the new Party Secretary of Shanghai, and Jiang became new [[List of mayors of Shanghai|mayor of Shanghai]]. Jiang received mixed reviews as mayor. Many of his critics dismissed him as a "flower pot", a Chinese term for someone who only seems useful, but actually gets nothing done.<ref name="BBC: Profile: Jiang Zemin">{{cite news |date=19 September 2004 |title=BBC: Profile: Jiang Zemin |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1832448.stm |url-status=live |access-date=7 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529080200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1832448.stm |archive-date=29 May 2008}}</ref> Many credited Shanghai's growth during the period to [[Zhu Rongji]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-31-mn-18906-story.html|title=China Leans Heavily on Trouble-Shooter: Politics: Vice Premier Zhu Rongji's assignment is to cope with economic troubles, corruption, rural anger.|first=David|last=Holley|date=31 July 1993|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=5 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000828/http://articles.latimes.com/1993-07-31/news/mn-18906_1_zhu-rongji|archive-date=15 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Jiang was an ardent believer, during this period, in Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms. In an attempt to curb [[1986 Chinese student demonstrations|student discontent in 1986]], Jiang recited the [[Gettysburg Address]] in English in front of a group of student protesters.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=133}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/book-real-story-of-jiang-zemin-introduction4/ |title=Book: Real Story of Jiang Zemin: Introduction(4) |publisher=Chinaview.wordpress.com |date=25 August 2006 |access-date=7 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718094837/http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2006/08/25/book-real-story-of-jiang-zemin-introduction4/ |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Wei Ling |authorlink=Lee Wei Ling |title=A Hakka Woman's Singapore |publisher=Straits Times Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-981-4642-47-7 |edition=1st |pages=124 |language=en}}</ref>

At the [[13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|13th National Congress of the CCP]] held in October 1987, Jiang was promoted from mayor to Shanghai [[Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary|party secretary]], the most powerful position in the city, reporting directly to the central government.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=138}} He also joined the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, in accordance with customs for party secretaries of major cities.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=138}} In 1988, Jiang banned party and government organs from engaging in business activities.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gewirtz |first=Julian |title=Never Turn Back: China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2022 |isbn=9780674241848 |doi=}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=197}}

=== 1989 Shanghai pro-democracy protests ===
In April 1989, former general secretary [[Hu Yaobang]] died; he had previously been forced to resign in January 1987 and accused of supporting "bourgeois liberalization".{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=133}} His death catalyzed the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]],{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=148–149}} leading to an ideological crisis between "liberals" (who supported aggressive reforms) and "conservatives" (who favored slower change).{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=147|loc="In fact, no one of importance disagreed fundamentally with the necessity of Chapter 9 reform to spur economic development. The fault line between the so-called "liberals" and "conservatives" was the speed and style of the reforms. Still, the division was seismic, and the epicenter would soon be Tiananmen Square."}}<!-- the scare quotes are present around "liberals" and "conservatives" in the source; please keep --> After the Shanghai-based ''[[World Economic Herald]]'' tried to publish a eulogy rehabilitating Hu and praising his reformist stance, Jiang took control of the newspaper's editorial board.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Kate |year=1990 |title=The Political Fortunes of Shanghai's 'World Economic Herald' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2158797 |journal=The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs |issue=23 |pages=121–132 |doi=10.2307/2158797 |jstor=2158797 |s2cid=157680075 |issn=0156-7365|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=133-134, 149}} As the protests continued to grow, the Party imposed martial law and deployed troops in Beijing in May.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=161}} In Shanghai, 100,000 protestors marched in the streets, and 450 students went on a hunger strike.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=160}} After the third day, Jiang personally met with them to assure them that the Party shared their goals, and to promise future dialogue. He simultaneously sent a telegram to the Central Committee firmly supporting their martial law declaration.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=161}}

His careful public appeals were well received by both pro-democracy students and socialist party elders.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=162}} On 20 May 1989, paramount leader Deng Xiaoping decided to appoint Jiang as the new general secretary, replacing Zhao Ziyang,{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=162|loc=}} who had supported the protestors.<ref name="Pomfret">Pomfret, John. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/14/AR2009051400942.html?sid=ST2009051401023 "In Posthumous Memoir, China's Zhao Ziyang Details Tiananmen Debate, Faults Party"]. ''The Washington Post''. 15 May 2009. p.2.</ref><ref name="PPan">{{Cite book |last=Philip P. Pan |url=http://archive.org/details/outofmaosshadows00panp |title=Out of Mao's shadow |date=2008 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-3705-2 |pages=4–5 |oclc=1150955831 |author-link=Philip Pan |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Jiang was selected as a compromise candidate over [[Tianjin]]'s [[Li Ruihuan]], premier [[Li Peng]], elders [[Li Xiannian]], [[Chen Yun]], and the retired elders to become the new general secretary.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=163}} Before that, he had been considered to be an unlikely candidate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-09-19-china-military_x.htm|title=USATODAY.com – China completes military power transfer|website=USA Today|access-date=5 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102160834/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-09-19-china-military_x.htm|archive-date=2 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Leadership ==
{{Further|History of the People's Republic of China (1989–2002)}}

Jiang was appointed as general secretary at the fourth plenum of the Thirteenth Central Committee on 24 June 1989 with a fairly small power base inside the party, and thus, very little actual power.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mackerras |first1=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYmBAgAAQBAJ |title=Dictionary of the Politics of the People's Republic of China |last2=McMillen |first2=Donald H. |last3=Watson |first3=Andrew |date=16 December 2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-53175-2 |page=249 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto" /> His most reliable allies were the powerful party elders Chen Yun and Li Xiannian. He was believed to be simply a transitional figure until a more stable successor government to Deng could be put in place.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=3}} Other prominent Party and military figures like President [[Yang Shangkun]] and his brother [[Yang Baibing]] were believed to be planning a coup.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=219}}

At the first meeting of the new [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP Politburo Standing Committee]], after the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, Jiang criticized the previous period as "hard on the economy, soft on politics" and advocated increasing political thought work.<ref name="brady08">Anne-Marie Brady, Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.</ref> [[Anne-Marie Brady]] wrote that "Jiang Zemin was a long time political cadre with a nose for ideological work and its importance. This meeting marked the beginning of a new era in propaganda and political thought work in China." Soon after, the Central Propaganda Department was given more resources and power, "including the power to go in to the propaganda-related work units and cleanse the ranks of those who had been supportive of the democracy movement."<ref name="brady08" />

The Politburo also issued a list of "seven things" regarding "matters of universal concern to the masses", with party corruption as the top priority.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=181}}Jiang was also appointed as the chairman of the Central Military Commission on 9 November 1989, succeeding Deng.<ref>{{cite journal |date=1 September 2004 |title=China's military leadership |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1356788041071 |journal=Strategic Comments |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.1080/1356788041071 |s2cid=219695239 |url-access=subscription |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref> In the first few years, Jiang depended on the support of Deng Xiaoping to remain in power,{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=220|loc="Though Jiang had spent the preceding two years diligently building his relations with the military, his position remained dependent on Deng."}}{{additional citation needed|date=November 2024}} which forced Jiang into an "ultranationalist stance" towards Taiwan and the US.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Miller |first=Lyman |date=1 June 1996 |title=Overlapping Transitions in China's Leadership |journal=SAIS Review |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=21–42 |doi=10.1353/sais.1996.0038 |s2cid=153471937}}</ref> Jiang had supported Deng's calls against "bourgeois liberalization", but while Jiang was seen as a "thoughtful reformer",{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=134, 180|loc="We must enhance socialist ideology while carrying out to the end the struggle against bourgeois liberalization."}} he "[skewed] to the more conservative views of the elders and his Politburo colleagues".{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=214}} Deng was far more supportive of reforms, saying that "deviating to the Left is an even greater danger" than deviating to the right.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=213}}

Deng grew critical of Jiang's leadership in 1992. During [[Deng Xiaoping's southern tour|Deng's southern tour]], he subtly suggested that the pace of reform was not fast enough.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=212}} Jiang grew ever more cautious, and rallied behind Deng's reforms completely.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=682}} Jiang coined the new "[[socialist market economy]]" to move China's centrally-planned socialist economy into essentially a government-regulated [[market economy]].{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=216–222}} It was a huge step to take in the realization of Deng's "socialism with Chinese characteristics".{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=220–222}} At the same time, Jiang elevated many of his supporters from Shanghai to high government positions, after regaining Deng's confidence. He abolished the outdated [[Central Advisory Commission]] in 1992, an advisory body composed of revolutionary party elders. Jiang was appointed as president of China on 27 March 1993;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Byrnes |first1=Michael |date=29 March 1993 |title=Jiang Zemin Elected President of China |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/jiang-zemin-elected-president-of-china-19930329-k5bxx |access-date=8 December 2022 |work=Australian Financial Review}}</ref> this marked the start of the arrangement in which the paramount leader of China simultaneously serves as Party leader, president and chair of the CMC.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 2013 |title=Jiang Zemin to Have Lower Rank in Communist Party |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9823478/Jiang-Zemin-to-have-lower-rank-in-Communist-party.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312234448/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9823478/Jiang-Zemin-to-have-lower-rank-in-Communist-party.html |archive-date=12 March 2018 |access-date=12 March 2018 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref>

=== Defense ===
After Jiang Zemin took over as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, he faced several crises. The military leaders [[Yang Shangkun]] and [[Yang Baibing]] had once marginalized Jiang Zemin, but after winning the support of Deng Xiaoping, they gradually lost military power.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-01-17 |title=镇压六四主将、党内斗争牺牲品杨白冰病逝 |url=http://www.voachinese.com/content/yangbaibing-20130117/1585554.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513142051/http://www.voachinese.com/content/yangbaibing-20130117/1585554.html |archive-date=2016-05-13 |accessdate=2016-08-03 |work=美国之音 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Third Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis prompted Jiang Zemin reflect on the mistakes of the [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA) and he began to build up national defense on a large scale, purchasing Russian naval and air force weapons, thus ending the [[Business activities of the Chinese military|military engaging in business]], as well as easing problems with low morale and the near collapse of the military industry.<ref>{{cite news |title=1990年代中国军队经商乱象丛生：上将曾被告上法庭 |url=http://military.china.com/history4/62/20140721/18646704.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105150928/http://military.china.com/history4/62/20140721/18646704.html |archivedate=2015-01-05 |accessdate=2015-01-05 |newspaper=中华网 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=1998年江泽民宣布“军队不再经商” 震惊世界 |url=http://news.ifeng.com/history/zhongguoxiandaishi/detail_2013_06/20/26597774_0.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105155421/http://news.ifeng.com/history/zhongguoxiandaishi/detail_2013_06/20/26597774_0.shtml |archive-date=2015-01-05 |accessdate=2015-01-05 |newspaper=凤凰网 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1997, Jiang Zemin proposed the "three-step" strategy for national defense and military modernization in "Realizing the Strategic Goal of Cross-Century Development of National Defense and Military Modernization".<ref name="rmw">[http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2012/1026/c350795-19402718.html 与国家现代化建设“三步走”相一致，国防和军队现代化建设也可以分“三步走”，人民网，2012-10-26]{{Dead link|date=August 2025|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> China's military expenditure also began to increase rapidly from 1999.<ref>{{cite web |title=中国历年军费一览 |url=http://news.163.com/special/junfei/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101062031/http://news.163.com/special/junfei/ |archive-date=2023-01-01 |access-date=2023-01-01 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During his tenure, Jiang ordered a strict investigation into the issue of espionage leaks to the People's Liberation Army. He investigated and dealt with several major espionage leaks, of which the Liu Guangzhi and [[Liu Liankun]] cases were the most famous. The Liu Guangzhi case was called "the largest espionage case since the founding of the People's Republic of China." The leaked PLA secrets would affect the cross-strait air control competition over the Taiwan Strait and would have adverse consequences on the PLA's combat effectiveness. The Liu Liankun case was directly involved in the leak of information about the PLA's military exercises during the 1996 presidential election and the Taiwan Strait missile crisis. In May 2004, when meeting with representatives of the 10th Party Congress of the Air Force, Jiang Zemin emphasized: "We must unite the officers and soldiers to actively participate in the great practice of military reform with Chinese characteristics, and make new and greater contributions to building a strong modern People's Air Force and safeguarding national air defense security and the unity of the motherland."<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-12-28 |title=江泽民下令严查的“建国以来最严重的间谍案” |url=http://news.ifeng.com/history/zhongguoxiandaishi/detail_2012_12/28/20616390_1.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520202018/http://news.ifeng.com/history/zhongguoxiandaishi/detail_2012_12/28/20616390_1.shtml |archive-date=2014-05-20 |accessdate=2016-08-03 |publisher=社会观察 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Domestic policy ===
Under Jiang's leadership, China established its first control over the Internet, when in 1996 Premier Li Peng signed a State Council Order issuing the "Temporary Regulations Governing Computer Information Networks and the Internet". The regulations stated that all direct connections to the internet must be channeled through international ports established and maintained by the [[Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (China)|Ministry of Post and Telecommunications]], saying that no group or individual may establish or use any other means to gain internet access. In 1998, the Chinese government started a project to maintain tighter control over the internet in what became known as the [[Great Firewall]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shen |first=Xinmei |date=7 November 2019 |title=The story of China's Great Firewall, the world's most sophisticated censorship system |url=https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3089836/story-chinas-great-firewall-worlds-most-sophisticated |access-date=10 July 2025 |work=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref>

Jiang Zemin's background in science and engineering prompted him to focus on the development of science and education during his time in office. During his tenure, Jiang proposed the [[revitalize the country through science and education]] strategy. In December 1989, Jiang Zemin pointed out the impact of scientific and technological progress on the development of social productivity at the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and insisted on giving priority to the development of science and technology. In October 1992, he proposed "establishing the strategic position of giving priority to the development of science and education" at the 14th CCP National Congress and in 1996, he formed the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education. In the following years, the State Council launched the Knowledge Innovation Project, the Technology Innovation Project, [[Project 211]], and [[Project 985]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=许先春 |title=江泽民科技思想研究 |date=December 2002 |publisher=浙江科学技术出版社 |isbn=7-5341-2036-5 |edition=第1版 |pages=2–8 |author2=林振义}}</ref>

On September 21, 1992, the Politburo Standing Committee chaired by Jiang Zemin formally approved the largest space project in the history of the People's Republic of China: the China Manned Space Program.<ref name="project921">{{cite web |title=中国载人航天新篇章——921工程历史回眸 |url=http://www.cmse.gov.cn/ztbd/xwzt/qzxzgcllszntbzt/fzlc/200909/t20090925_39617.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530210734/http://www.cmse.gov.cn/ztbd/xwzt/qzxzgcllszntbzt/fzlc/200909/t20090925_39617.html |archive-date=2022-05-30 |access-date=2021-10-12}}</ref> During the implementation of the project, he visited Beijing Aerospace City, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and other places many times to inspect and meet with scientific and technological personnel who participated in the development. He also watched the launch of the Shenzhou III manned test spacecraft on site. After more than ten years of development, China became the third country in the world to master independent manned space capabilities after the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |author1=中国空间技术研究院公众号 |date=2022-12-04 |title=江泽民同志永垂不朽｜难忘那天，您注视着图板上的中国空间站 |url=https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/gOP4Ga6gab0ZnWmZ20zK5A |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205061145/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/gOP4Ga6gab0ZnWmZ20zK5A |archivedate=2022-12-05 |accessdate=2022-12-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 1999, Jiang established an extralegal department, the [[610 Office]], to [[Persecution of Falun Gong|crack down]] on [[Falun Gong]]. Cook and Lemish state this was because Jiang was worried that the popular new religious movement was "quietly infiltrating the CCP and state apparatus."<ref>Sarah Cook and Leeshai Lemish, [http://www.jamestown.org/programs/chinabrief/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38411&cHash=2dff246d80ffd78112de97e280ce9725 'The 610 Office:Policing the Chinese Spirit'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127030409/http://www.jamestown.org/programs/chinabrief/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38411&cHash=2dff246d80ffd78112de97e280ce9725|date=27 January 2013}}, China Brief, Volume 11 Issue 17 (9 November 2011).</ref> On 20 July, security forces arrested thousands of Falun Gong organizers they identified as leaders.<ref name="Tong">James Tong. ''[[Revenge of the Forbidden City: The suppression of the Falungong in China, 1999–2005]]''. (New York, NY: [[Oxford University Press]], 2009); {{ISBN|0-19-537728-1}} – [https://books.google.com/books?id=PyxCVRB-De8C&pg=PP6 Link at] [[Google Books]]</ref> The persecution that followed was characterized as a nationwide campaign of propaganda, as well as the large-scale arbitrary imprisonment and coercive reeducation of Falun Gong organizers, sometimes resulting in death due to mistreatment in detention.<ref name="HRW">{{Cite book |last=Spiegel |first=Mickey |url=https://archive.org/details/fromhouseholdtof00huma |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-269-6 |access-date=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref>Amnesty International [http://www.refworld.org/docid/3b83b6e00.html "China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called 'heretical organization'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518074828/http://www.refworld.org/docid/3b83b6e00.html|date=18 May 2015}} 23 March 2000</ref><ref>[[Ian Denis Johnson]], [http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6472 "Death Trap – How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406133845/http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6472|date=6 April 2012}}, ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', Pulitzer.org, 26 December 2000.</ref>

=== Economic policy ===
In the early 1990s, post-Tiananmen economic reforms by Vice Premier and later Premier [[Zhu Rongji]] with Jiang's support had stabilized and the country was on a consistent growth trajectory. At the same time, China faced myriad economic and social problems. At Deng's state funeral in 1997, Jiang delivered the elder statesman's eulogy. Jiang had inherited a China rampant with political corruption, and regional economies growing too rapidly for the stability of the entire country. Deng's policy that "some areas can get rich before others" led to an opening wealth gap between coastal regions and the interior provinces.

Jiang and Zhu initiated major reforms to [[State-owned enterprises of China|state-owned enterprises]] (SOEs) during their tenure. Per the concept of [[grasping the large, letting go of the small]], a number of heavy industries were deregulated and many small- and medium-sized SOEs were closed down or privatized, initially removing as many as 40 million jobs from SOEs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jiang Zemin, who guided China's economic rise, dies |url=https://apnews.com/article/china-beijing-hong-kong-obituaries-jiang-zemin-4ee4c5dcaf567e02efa3c5c7186af30a |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=AP News |date=30 November 2022 |language=en|last1=McDonald|first1=Joe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-13-mn-31787-story.html|title=China Gets Down to Business at Party Congress|date=13 September 1997|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=12 January 2020|archive-date=18 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018190108/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-13-mn-31787-story.html|url-status=live|last1=Tempest|first1=Rone}}</ref> Jiang also oversaw the breaking of the [[iron rice bowl]], allowing China to join the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krishnan |first1=Ananth |date=30 November 2022 |title=Jiang Zemin obituary {{!}} President who shepherded China's economic reforms, growth |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/jiang-zemin-obituary-a-president-who-shepherded-chinas-economic-reforms-growth/article66204888.ece |access-date=3 December 2022}}</ref> As a result of the reforms, unemployment rates skyrocketed, rising as high as 40% in some urban areas, and stock markets fluctuated greatly. The scale of rural migration into urban areas was unprecedented anywhere, and little was being done to address an ever-increasing urban-rural wealth gap. Official reports put the figure on the percentage of China's GDP being moved and abused by corrupt officials at 10%.<ref>Michael E. Porter. [http://nps.edu/programs/ccs/webjournal/Article.aspx?ArticleID=124 ''The Competitive Advantage of Nations'' (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1990), p. 546.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628230559/http://nps.edu/programs/ccs/webjournal/Article.aspx?ArticleID=124 |date=28 June 2015 }}</ref>

Jiang's biggest aim in the economy was stability, and he believed that a stable government with highly centralized power would be a prerequisite, choosing to postpone political reform, which in many facets of governance exacerbated the ongoing problems.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-20038774|title=Profile: Jiang Zemin|date=23 October 2012|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114121903/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-20038774|archive-date=14 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> After the coastal regions and SEZs were sufficiently developed, Jiang worked to reduce geographic disparities by encouraging richer cities to "provide financial, technological, and managerial assistance to the poorer, western ones."{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=405}} Jiang put forward the plan for [[China Western Development|China's western development]].<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last1=Wu |first1=Guoyou |title=An Ideological History of the Communist Party of China |last2=Ding |first2=Xuemei |date=2020 |publisher=Royal Collins Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4878-0392-6 |editor-last=Zheng |editor-first=Qian |location=Montreal, Quebec |translator-last=Sun |translator-first=Li |translator-last2=Bryant |translator-first2=Shelly}}</ref>{{Rp|page=401}} Construction of various infrastructure projects such as the [[Qinghai–Tibet railway]] and the [[Three Gorges Dam]] began under Jiang's leadership.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gittings |first=John |date=19 October 2000 |title=Big ideas drive China's quest for super status |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://theguardian.com/world/2000/oct/19/china.johngittings |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref> 

Jiang launched the [[Go Out policy|Going Global]] policy in 1999, a national strategy which sought to develop [[National champions|national champion]] firms, increase foreign demand for Chinese goods and services, and secure energy and resources.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Garlick |first=Jeremy |title=Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption |date=2024 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=978-1-350-25231-8}}</ref>{{Rp|page=123}} This policy greatly expanded Chinese investment and influence in the [[Global North and Global South|global South]], particularly in Africa and Asia.<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=124}} During Jiang's tenure, China adopted policies to expand [[Trade policy of China|its trade]] and economic relations with other countries through the Maritime Commerce Law (1993), Anti-Subsidy Rules (1997), and 2001 revisions to the Foreign Investment Law.<ref name=":025">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Xiaobing |title=The Cold War in East Asia |date=2018 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-138-65179-1 |location=Abingdon, Oxon}}</ref>{{Rp|page=190}}

=== Foreign policy ===
{{See also|List of international trips made by Jiang Zemin}}
Under Jiang's leadership, China continued its style of developmental diplomacy which had been adopted under Deng Xiaoping.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Zhao |first=Suisheng |title=The dragon roars back : transformational leaders and dynamics of Chinese foreign policy |date=2023 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5036-3415-2 |location=Stanford, California |page=11 |oclc=1332788951}}</ref> China's international behavior was generally both pragmatic and predictable.<ref name=":0" /> During Jiang's presidency, serious flare-ups between China and the United States occurred.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Chris |last2=Wines |first2=Michael |date=30 November 2022 |title=Jiang Zemin, Leader Who Guided China into Global Market, Dies at 96 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/obituaries/jiang-zemin-dead.html |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref> Nonetheless, Jiang's foreign policy was for the most part passive and non-confrontational. Foreign policy under Jiang inherited from that of Deng Xiaoping, that is, "[[hide your strength, bide your time]]", which emphasized the use of cooperative rhetoric and the avoidance of controversy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doshi |first=Rush |title=Hu's to blame for China's foreign assertiveness? |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/hus-to-blame-for-chinas-foreign-assertiveness/ |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Russia and neighboring countries ====
[[File:Vladimir_Putin_at_APEC_Summit_in_China_19-21_October_2001-11.jpg|thumb|Jiang with [[President of Russia]] [[Vladimir Putin]] at [[APEC]] summit in [[Shanghai]] (2001)]]Jiang oversaw the deepening of [[China–Russia relations|China's relations with Russia]]. In 1991, Jiang signed the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Eastern Section of the Sino-Soviet Border with Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chinese and Russian Governments on the Mutual Reduction of Armed Forces in Border Areas and Strengthening of Military Trust with Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]]. On 23 December 1992, Yeltsin made his first official visit to China, where he met with Jiang Zemin and Chinese president [[Yang Shangkun]].<ref name="chronology">Chronology of principal defence and security-related agreements and initiatives involving the Russian Federation and Asian countries, 1992–99</ref> During the 1990s, cooperation between China and Russia was facilitated by the two countries' mutual desires to balance the influence of the United States and establish a multi-polar international system.<ref name=":92222">{{Cite book |last=Turcsanyi |first=Richard J. |title=Contemporary China: a New Superpower? |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-239508-1 |editor-last=Kironska |editor-first=Kristina |chapter=Relations with the Europe and Russia |editor-last2=Turscanyi |editor-first2=Richard Q.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=248}}

Jiang also started to meet regularly with Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]], who visited Beijing in November 1997, while Jiang visited Moscow in 1998. Relations were further strengthened by the joint opposition to the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|NATO intervention in Yugoslavia]].<ref name=":82">{{Cite book |last=Snow |first=Philip |title=China and Russia: Four Centuries of Conflict and Concord |date=2023 |isbn=978-0300166651 |location=New Haven}}</ref>{{Rp|page=491}} In December 1999, during his visit to China, Yeltsin signed the Protocol on the Demarcation of the Eastern and Western Sections of the Sino-Russian Border with Jiang Zemin.<ref name="dwnews">{{cite web |date=2013-03-27 |title=多维历史：揭秘江泽民送给越南的国土 |url=http://history.dwnews.com/news/2013-03-27/59159248-all.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402154155/http://history.dwnews.com/news/2013-03-27/59159248-all.html |archive-date=2015-04-02 |access-date=2015-03-27 |publisher=[[多维网]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=《中华人民共和国和苏维埃社会主义共和国联盟关于中苏国界东段的协定》（1991/05/16） |url=http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/zhuanti/pjfh/1157570.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042726/http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/zhuanti/pjfh/1157570.htm |archive-date=2016-03-05 |accessdate=2016-05-15 |agency=中国网}}</ref> In 2001, the two countries established the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]] (SCO) together with [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] in the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]] (SCO). A month later, the close relations between the two countries were formalized with the [[2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship|Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation]], a twenty-year strategic and economic treaty.<ref name=":04">{{Cite web |last1=Stronski |first1=Paul |last2=Ng |first2=Nicole |date=2018-02-28 |title=Cooperation and Competition: Russia and China in Central Asia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2018/02/cooperation-and-competition-russia-and-china-in-central-asia-the-russian-far-east-and-the-arctic?lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301011720/http://carnegieendowment.org/2018/02/28/cooperation-and-competition-russia-and-china-in-central-asia-russian-far-east-and-arctic-pub-75673 |archive-date=2018-03-01 |access-date=2021-07-26 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |language=en}}</ref>  In 2004, China and Russia re-demarcated the border, dividing Heixiazi Island into two parts, with the western part returning to China.<ref name="hhz">{{Cite web |title=黑瞎子岛大事记 |url=http://www.china.com.cn/aboutchina/zhuanti/hxi/2008-10/21/content_16642372.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510192707/http://www.china.com.cn/aboutchina/zhuanti/hxi/2008-10/21/content_16642372.htm |archive-date=2020-05-10 |accessdate=2015-12-13 |url-status=live}}</ref>

After 1990, Sino-Vietnamese relations returned to normal, the eleven-year border conflict ended, the land border between the two countries was finally demarcated, and the two sides drew a median line in the Beibu Gulf. On December 25, 2000, Jiang Zemin, on behalf of China, signed the Beibu Gulf Delimitation Agreement with Vietnam, formally ceding Fushuizhou Island to Vietnam.<ref>{{cite news |title=中越两国将正式签署北部湾领海边界协定 |url=http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/47180-20001224.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810005322/http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/47180-20001224.html |archive-date=2016-08-10 |accessdate=2016-05-15 |agency=Radio Free Asia |url-status=live}}</ref> At the same time, the China-Vietnam Beibu Gulf Fisheries Cooperation Agreement was also signed.<ref name="dwnews2">{{cite web |date=2013-03-27 |title=多维历史：揭秘江泽民送给越南的国土 |url=http://history.dwnews.com/news/2013-03-27/59159248-all.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402154155/http://history.dwnews.com/news/2013-03-27/59159248-all.html |archive-date=2015-04-02 |access-date=2015-03-27 |publisher=[[多维网]] |url-status=dead}}</ref> Jiang signed an agreement with Tajikistan in 2002 to cede about 27,000 square kilometers of disputed land in the neighboring Pamir region, allowing Tajikistan to obtain 96.5% of the disputed territory. However, before the signing of the treaty, all the disputed territories were claimed by Tajikistan and actually controlled. After the signing of the treaty, the People's Republic of China actually increased its actual controlled land by at least 1,000 square kilometers.<ref>{{cite web |date=2017-05-22 |title=俄媒：中方向塔吉克斯坦提出领土要求 |url=http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lxy2-05222017153158.html/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818175904/http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lxy2-05222017153158.html |archive-date=2017-08-18 |accessdate=2017-05-28 |publisher=自由亚洲电台 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-07-07 |title=中塔边界勘定 中国新增上千平方公里领土 -- 中国发展门户网 |url=http://cn.chinagate.cn/news/2008-10/06/content_16568047.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707015842/http://cn.chinagate.cn/news/2008-10/06/content_16568047.htm |archive-date=2011-07-07 |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=web.archive.org |url-status=unfit}}</ref>

==== United States ====
[[File:Clinton and jiang-1.jpg|thumb|Jiang with US president [[Bill Clinton]] in 1997]]In July 1993, the United States Navy stopped a Chinese container ship, the ''Yinhe'', based on the incorrect suspicion that it was carrying chemical weapon precursors bound for Iran.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Zhao |first=Suisheng |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781503634152 |title=The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy |date=2023 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5036-3415-2 |page=63|doi=10.1515/9781503634152 }}</ref> Although China denied the allegation, the United States cut off the ''Yinhe''{{'}}s GPS, causing it to lose direction and anchor on the high seas for twenty-four days until it acceded to an inspection.<ref name=":1" /> There were no chemical precursors on the ship.<ref name=":1" /> Although China sought a formal apology, the United States refused to apologize and refused to pay compensation.<ref name=":1" /> Despite the humiliation of the [[Yinhe incident|''Yinhe'' incident]], Jiang took a stance of goodwill towards the United States and adopted the "sixteen-characters formula" for working with the United States: "enhancing confidence, reducing troubles, expanding cooperation, and avoiding confrontation."<ref name=":1" /> 

In 1998, Chinese President Jiang praised the American film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' during an address to the National People's Congress in order to demonstrate his endorsement of Western cultural imports.<ref name=":023">{{Cite book |last=Tu |first=Hang |title=Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |year=2025 |isbn=9780674297579 |pages=242}}</ref>

Jiang oversaw [[Third Taiwan Strait Crisis|a series of missile tests in the waters surrounding Taiwan]] in 1996 in protest to the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] government under President [[Lee Teng-hui]], who had been seen as moving its foreign policy away from the [[One China|One-China policy]].<ref name=":054">{{Cite book |last=Lampton |first=David M. |title=Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-5381-8725-8 |location=Lanham, MD |pages= |author-link=David M. Lampton}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=224–225}} The United States sent two carrier groups to the vicinity of Taiwan, and the PRC de-escalated.<ref name=":054" />{{Rp|page=225}} As a result of the United States response, Jiang ordered the [[People's Liberation Army]] to begin a ten-year modernization program.<ref name=":054" />{{Rp|page=225}}

Jiang went on a [[state visit]] to the United States in 1997, drawing various crowds in protest from the Tibet Independence Movement to supporters of the [[Chinese democracy movement]]. He made a speech at Harvard University, part of it in English, but could not escape questions on democracy and freedom. In the official summit meeting with president [[Bill Clinton]], the tone was relaxed as they sought common ground while largely ignoring areas of disagreement. Clinton would visit China in June 1998, and vowed that China and the United States were partners in the world, and not adversaries.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=358}}

After the [[United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade]] in 1999, Jiang seemed to have put up a harsh stance for show at home, but in reality only performed symbolic gestures of protest, and no solid action.<ref name="BBC" /> Jiang deemed the United States-China bilateral relation too important to be harmed in the emotion of the moment and sought to soothe the Chinese public's outrage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhao |first=Suisheng |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781503634152 |title=The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics and Chinese Foreign Policy |date=2023 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5036-3415-2 |location=Stanford, California |pages=63–64|doi=10.1515/9781503634152 }}</ref> In an emergency Politburo meeting on 8 May 1999, Jiang Zemin instructed the CMC to strengthen the PLA to prevent future attacks on Chinese interests.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Fiona S. |title=Under the Nuclear Shadow: China's Information-Age Weapons in International Security |date=2025 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-26103-4 |location=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=165}} Among the measures China took to close its lack in leverage with the United States were efforts to develop precision missiles and accelerating plans to expand conventional missile forces.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|page=|pages=17, 132}} China increased military funding, including to speed up the weapons development program Project 995.<ref name=":03" />{{Rp|page=165}}

The [[Hainan Island incident|Hainan island incident]] was another tense event in the China-United States relations which occurred during Jiang's presidency.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Zhao |first=Suisheng |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781503634152 |title=The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy |date=2023 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5036-3415-2 |location=Stanford, California |pages=64|doi=10.1515/9781503634152 }}</ref> On April 1, 2001, a United States US [[Lockheed EP-3|EP-3]] surveillance aircraft collided mid-air with a Chinese [[Shenyang J-8]] jet fighter over the South China Sea.<ref name=":2" /> China sought a formal apology, and accepted United States Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]]'s expression of "very sorry" as sufficient.<ref name=":2" /> The incident nonetheless created negative feelings towards the United States by the Chinese public and increased public feelings of [[Chinese nationalism]].<ref name=":2" />

A personal friend of former Canadian prime minister [[Jean Chrétien]],<ref>{{cite web |title=NewsLibrary.com – newspaper archive, clipping service – newspapers and other news sources |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97A5C48B7AFFEC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107015724/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97A5C48B7AFFEC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |archive-date=7 November 2017 |access-date=14 November 2017 |website=Nl.newsbank.com}}</ref> Jiang strengthened China's economic stature abroad, attempting to establish cordial relations with countries whose trade is largely confined to the American economic sphere.

=== Media depiction ===
[[File:강택민 중국 국가주석 연설.jpg|thumb|right|Jiang Zemin delivered a speech at the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|South Korean National Assembly]] in 1995]]
The ''[[People's Daily]]'' and [[China Central Television|CCTV]]'s 7&nbsp;pm ''[[Xinwen Lianbo]]'' each had Jiang-related events as the front-page or top stories, a fact that remained until Hu Jintao's media administrative changes in 2006. Jiang appeared casual in front of Western media, and gave an unprecedented interview with [[Mike Wallace]] of CBS in 2000 at [[Beidaihe]]. He would often use foreign languages in front of the camera; once, he gave a 40-minute speech entirely in Russian.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|pp=92–93, 371, 437}} In an [[Jiang Zemin Hong-Kong journalist incident|encounter]] with Hong Kong reporter [[Sharon Cheung]] in 2000 regarding the central government's apparent "imperial order" of supporting [[Tung Chee-hwa]] to seek a second term as [[Chief Executive of Hong Kong]], Jiang scolded the Hong Kong journalists as "too simple, sometimes naive" in English.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Landler |first=Mark |date=29 October 2000 |title=Leader of China Angrily Chastises Hong Kong Media |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/29/world/leader-of-china-angrily-chastises-hong-kong-media.html |access-date=16 November 2023}}</ref>

=== Taiwan ===
On 11 June 1990, Jiang Zemin expressed his views on the speech of Taiwanese President [[Lee Teng-hui]] at the opening ceremony of the National United Front Work Conference. He reiterated that as long as both sides sit down and truly adhere to the principle of "one China" rather than "two Chinas," "one China, one Taiwan," or "one country, two governments," all issues can be raised for discussion and consultation.<ref>{{cite web |date=2004-02-12 |title=论和平统一祖国(一)：两岸关系的回顾与启示 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2004-02/12/content_1310554.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041116113050/http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2004-02/12/content_1310554.htm |archive-date=2004-11-16 |accessdate=2014-06-16 |publisher=新华网 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 21 November 1990, Taiwan established the [[Straits Exchange Foundation]], a non-governmental intermediary organization authorized by the Taiwanese government to contact and negotiate with the mainland, to handle cross-strait affairs that the government was inconvenient or unable to handle. Subsequently, the [[Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits]], the mainland's counterpart, was established on 16 December 1991, and authorized to adhere to the [[One China principle|one-China principle]] as the basis for exchanges and negotiations between the two associations. From 28 to 30 October 1992, the two associations held preliminary negotiations in Hong Kong and finally reached the "[[1992 Consensus]]" on 16 November. From 27 to 29 April 1993, [[Wang Daohan]], Chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and [[Koo Chen-fu]], Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, held the "Koo-Wang Talks" in Singapore. This had a significant impact on promoting cross-strait negotiations, accelerating cross-strait economic and trade cooperation and various exchanges. On 30 January 1995, Jiang Zemin put forward the "[[Jiang's Eight Points|Eight Points for the Peaceful Reunification Process]]".<ref>{{cite book |author1=刘峰搏 |title=两岸三通简史 |author2=杜广强 |publisher=台海出版社 |year=2007 |isbn=7-80141-579-5 |location=北京 |pages=91}}</ref>

However, the Taiwan issue during Jiang Zemin's administration was largely influenced by China-U.S. relations and Taiwan-US relations. During Lee Teng-hui's visit to Cornell University in 1995, he delivered a public speech entitled "What the People Want Is Always in My Heart" at the Olin Lectures at Cornell University. This speech was considered by mainland China to be advocating the two-state theory, which caused the previously friendly cross-strait relations to take a sharp turn for the worse and gradually drift apart, and directly led to the third Taiwan Strait crisis.{{r|changelife|page=218}} In November 2002, Jiang Zemin, who was about to step down as General Secretary, proposed the "three things that can be discussed" for the unification of China in his report to the 16th CCP National Congress.<ref name="a1">{{Cite web |author= |date=2002-11-27 |title=张铭清：“三个可以谈”拓展两岸政治谈判空间 |url=http://news.sohu.com/49/43/news204604349.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711150059/http://news.sohu.com/49/43/news204604349.shtml |archive-date=2016-07-11 |accessdate=2019-03-29 |work= |publisher=搜狐网，中国新闻网 |language=Zh-hans |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Three Represents ===
{{Main|Three Represents}}

On 25 February 2000, Jiang introduced the theory of [[Three Represents]], which was later enshrined in both Party and State constitutions as an "important thought", following in the footsteps of [[Marxism–Leninism]], Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory.<ref name="datong">{{cite news |date=6 June 2015 |script-title=zh:补牢意识形态 "大统战"修正三个代表？ |language=zh-cn |work=Duowei News |url=http://china.dwnews.com/news/2015-06-06/59658666.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622201700/http://china.dwnews.com/news/2015-06-06/59658666.html |archive-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref name=":022" />{{Rp|pages=474–475}} Officially termed as the latest development of [[Socialism with Chinese characteristics|socialism with Chinese characters]] under Jiang's tenure,<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Dittmer |first=Lowell |date=2003 |title=Chinese Factional Politics Under Jiang Zemin |url= |journal=[[Journal of East Asian Studies]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=97–128 |doi=10.1017/S1598240800001132 |issn=1598-2408 |jstor=23417742 |s2cid=155266344}}</ref> the Three Represents justified the incorporation of the new capitalist business class into the party, and changed the founding ideology of the CCP from protecting the interests of the peasantry and workers to that of the "overwhelming majority of the people", a euphemism aimed at placating the growing entrepreneurial class. Conservative critics within the party, such as hardline leftist [[Deng Liqun]], denounced this as betrayal of "true" communist ideology.<ref name="datong" />

Before he transferred power to a younger generation of leaders, Jiang had his theory of Three Represents written into the Party's constitution, alongside Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory at the 16th CCP Congress in 2002.<ref>Tomoyuki Kojima. China's ''Omnidirectional Diplomacy'': Cooperation with all, Emphasis on Major Powers. Asia-Pacific Review, 1469–2937, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2001</ref>

== Retirement ==
{{See also|Shanghai clique}}
[[File:President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush welcome Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his wife Wang Yeping to their home in Crawford, Texas.jpg|thumb|right|Jiang with [[Wang Yeping|his wife]] and [[George W. Bush]] with [[Laura Bush|his wife]] in [[Crawford, Texas]], 25 October 2002]]
In the run-up to the [[16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|16th National Congress of the CCP]], Hu Jintao had "almost unanimous support" to become the new CCP general secretary.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=483}} To maintain China's image as a stable and respected country, Jiang and Hu emphasized their unity, striving to make this transition the first "smooth and harmonious" one in the PRC's history.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=496}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yongnian |first1=Zheng |last2=Fook |first2=Lye Liang |date=1 September 2003 |title=Elite politics and the fourth generation of chinese leadership |journal=Journal of Chinese Political Science |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=65–86 |doi=10.1007/BF02876950 |s2cid=144696105 |issn=1874-6357|doi-access=free }}</ref> Jiang stepped down as general secretary and left the Politburo Standing Committee, but retained the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission,{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=521}} which controlled the army and the nation's foreign policy.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=522}} Jiang would continue counselling Hu from "behind the curtain", and it was formally agreed that Jiang would be "consulted on all matters of state importance".{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=522}} Both men also reached a "tacit understanding" that Hu would not be considered a "[[Leadership core|core]]" leader like Jiang, Deng and Mao.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=497}}

At the 16th Party Congress, the majority of new members for Standing Committee were considered part of Jiang's so-called "[[Shanghai clique]]", the most prominent being vice president [[Zeng Qinghong]], who had served as Jiang's chief of staff for many years, and vice premier [[Huang Ju]], a former party secretary of Shanghai.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lam |first1=Willy Wo-Lap |title=Hu strikes back at Jiang |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/16/willy.column/index.html |access-date=30 November 2022 |publisher=CNN |date=17 December 2002 |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130172306/https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/16/willy.column/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After Hu succeeded Jiang as general secretary, the latter continued to "[dominate] public life" for several years.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=527}} The ''South China Morning Post'' announced that "a new era has begun in China. But it is not that of Vice President Hu Jintao [...] Rather, it is a new era of President Jiang Zemin, who has just stepped down as the Party's general secretary."{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=521}} Early in the 2003 [[SARS]] crisis, Jiang remained conspicuously silent, and observers were divided over whether it signified his waning influence, or respect for Hu.{{Sfn|Kuhn|2004|p=540}} It has been argued that the institutional arrangements created by the 16th Congress left Jiang in a position where he could not exercise much influence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Information Control and Self-Censorship in the PRC and the Spread of SARS – Congressional-Executive Commission on China |url=http://www.cecc.gov/publications/issue-papers/information-control-and-self-censorship-in-the-prc-and-the-spread-of-sars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018190108/https://www.cecc.gov/publications/issue-papers/information-control-and-self-censorship-in-the-prc-and-the-spread-of-sars |archive-date=18 October 2022 |access-date=6 December 2013 |website=cecc.gov|date=6 May 2003 }}</ref>

Although Jiang retained the chairmanship of the CMC, most members of the commission were professional military men. ''[[People's Liberation Army Daily]]'', a publication thought to represent the views of the CMC majority, printed an article on 11 March 2003 which quotes two army delegates as saying, "Having one center is called 'loyalty', while having two centers will result in 'problems.{{'"}} This was interpreted as a criticism of Jiang's attempt to exercise dual leadership with Hu on the model of Deng Xiaoping.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.hoover.org/documents/clm7_jm.pdf|title=Reduced Budgets, the "Two Centers," and Other Mysteries of the 2003 National People's Congress|author=James Mulvenon|website=Media.hoover.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626175840/http://media.hoover.org/documents/clm7_jm.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 19 September 2004, after the 4th Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee, Jiang, at the age of 78, relinquished his post as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, his last post in the party. Six months later in March 2005, Jiang resigned his last significant post, chairman of the Central Military Commission of the state, which marked the end of Jiang's political career.{{Clarify|reason=See talk page|date=November 2022}} This followed weeks of speculation that forces inside the party were pressing Jiang to step aside. Jiang's term was supposed to have lasted until 2007. Hu also succeeded Jiang as the CMC chairman, but, in an apparent political defeat for Jiang, General [[Xu Caihou]], and not Zeng Qinghong was appointed to succeed Hu as vice chairman, as was initially speculated. This power transition formally marked the end of Jiang's era in China, which roughly lasted from 1989 to 2004.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/files/journals/3/articles/61/public/61-61-1-PB.pdf|title=China's Foreign- and Security-policy Decision-making Processes under Hu Jintao|first=Jean-Pierre|last=Cabestan|date=8 October 2009|journal=Journal of Current Chinese Affairs|volume=38|issue=3|pages=63–97|doi=10.1177/186810260903800304|access-date=6 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212083814/http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/files/journals/3/articles/61/public/61-61-1-PB.pdf|archive-date=12 December 2013|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2008, Jiang published an academic article on China's clean energy resources and another on China's information technology development titled ''[[Reflections on Energy Issues in China]]''.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Hu |first=Richard |title=Reinventing the Chinese City |date=2023 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-21101-7 |location=New York}}</ref>{{Rp|page=100}}

=== Official appearances after retirement ===
Jiang continued to make official appearances after giving up his last title in 2005. In China's [[Orders of precedence in China|strictly defined protocol sequence]], Jiang's name always appeared immediately after Hu Jintao's and in front of the remaining sitting members of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee. In 2007, Jiang was seen with Hu Jintao on stage at a ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the [[People's Liberation Army]],<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/01/asia/AS-GEN-China-Politics.php China's leadership makes show of unity ahead of key Communist Party congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013113305/http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/01/asia/AS-GEN-China-Politics.php |date=13 October 2007 }} ''International Herald Tribune''</ref> and toured the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution with Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, and other former senior officials.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Leaders Visit Exhibition Marking 70th Anniversary of Long March – china.org.cn |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/changzheng/185612.htm |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=[[Xinhua News]] |date=22 October 2006}}</ref> On 8 August 2008, Jiang appeared at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jiang given place of honour to see culmination of his efforts |url=https://scmp.com/article/648434/jiang-given-place-honour-see-culmination-his-efforts |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=South China Morning Post |date=9 August 2008 |language=en}}</ref> He also stood beside Hu Jintao during the mass parade celebrating the [[60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China]] in October 2009.<ref>{{cite news |title=Communist China celebrates 60th anniversary with instruments of war and words of peace |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-02-fg-china-parade2-story.html |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2 October 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Putin's trip to Shanghai 20.jpg|thumb|Jiang Zemin meeting with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] in Shanghai on May 20, 2014]]
Beginning in July 2011, false reports of Jiang's death began circulating on the news media outside of mainland China and on the internet.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/07/01/ccp-birthday-gala-wheres-jiang-zemin/ | work=Financial Times | title=Where is Jiang Zemin? | date=1 July 2011 | access-date=6 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708055426/http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/07/01/ccp-birthday-gala-wheres-jiang-zemin/ | archive-date=8 July 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nikkei.com/news/headline/article/g=96958A9C9381959FE2E4E2E6978DE2E4E2E5E0E2E3E39494E3E2E2E2 | title=Jiang's Rumours of Death Spread | newspaper=Nihon Keizai Shimbun | date=6 July 2011 | access-date=7 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709223113/http://www.nikkei.com/news/headline/article/g=96958A9C9381959FE2E4E2E6978DE2E4E2E5E0E2E3E39494E3E2E2E2 | archive-date=9 July 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> While Jiang may indeed have been ill and receiving treatment, the rumors were denied by official sources.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine | url=https://world.time.com/2011/07/06/is-chinas-ex-leader-jiang-zemin-dead-local-censors-dont-want-any-speculation/|author-first1=Hannah|author-last1=Beech| title=Is China's Ex-Leader Jiang Zemin Dead? Local Censors Don't Want Any Speculation | magazine=Time | access-date=6 July 2011 | date=6 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706113058/http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/07/06/is-chinas-ex-leader-jiang-zemin-dead-local-censors-dont-want-any-speculation/| archive-date=6 July 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> On 9 October 2011, Jiang made his first public appearance since his premature obituary in Beijing at a celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the [[Xinhai Revolution]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-09/china-former-president-jiang-zemin-appears-at-beijing-event-xinhua-says.html |title=Jiang Zemin Appears in Public Three Months After Media Reports of Death |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |date=9 October 2011 |access-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024000526/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-09/china-former-president-jiang-zemin-appears-at-beijing-event-xinhua-says.html |archive-date=24 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Jiang reappeared at the [[18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|18th Party Congress]] in October 2012, and took part in the 65th Anniversary banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China in October 2014. At the banquet he sat next to [[Xi Jinping]], who had then succeeded Hu Jintao as CCP general secretary. In September 2015, Jiang attended the [[2015 China Victory Day Parade|parade celebrating 70 years since end of World War II]]; there, Jiang again sat next to Xi Jinping and Hu Jintao.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Chinese president at war parade amid infighting rumours |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-china-politics-jiang-idUKKCN0R306V20150903 |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=Reuters |date=3 September 2015 |language=en}}</ref> He appeared on 29 May 2017 at Shanghai Technology University.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://m.cn.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20170529-%E4%B8%80%E5%A6%82%E7%8C%9C%E6%B5%8B%E6%B1%9F%E6%B3%BD%E6%B0%91%E7%8E%B0%E8%BA%AB%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E7%A7%91%E5%A4%A7%E6%83%9F%E5%BD%B1%E5%93%8D%E5%8A%9B%E5%AD%98%E7%96%91|language=zh-cn |script-title=zh:一如猜测江泽民现身上海科大惟影响力存疑|date=29 May 2017|access-date=30 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605034540/http://m.cn.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20170529-%E4%B8%80%E5%A6%82%E7%8C%9C%E6%B5%8B%E6%B1%9F%E6%B3%BD%E6%B0%91%E7%8E%B0%E8%BA%AB%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E7%A7%91%E5%A4%A7%E6%83%9F%E5%BD%B1%E5%93%8D%E5%8A%9B%E5%AD%98%E7%96%91|archive-date=5 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

After Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, Jiang's position in the protocol sequence of leaders retreated; while he was often seated next to Xi Jinping at official events, his name was often reported after all standing members of the Communist Party's Politburo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chinas-former-leader-jiang-zemin-at-military-parade-amid-infighting-rumours|title=China's former leader Jiang Zemin at military parade amid infighting rumours|date=3 September 2015|website=The Straits Times|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925132547/http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chinas-former-leader-jiang-zemin-at-military-parade-amid-infighting-rumours|archive-date=25 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Jiang reappeared at the [[19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|19th Party Congress]] on 18 October 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/19th-party-congress-former-president-jiang-zemins-appearance-quashes-death-rumour|title=19th Party Congress: Former president Jiang Zemin's appearance quashes death rumour|date=18 October 2017|website=The Straits Times|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020160035/http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/19th-party-congress-former-president-jiang-zemins-appearance-quashes-death-rumour|archive-date=20 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He appeared on 29 July 2019 at the funeral of former premier Li Peng.<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2019-07-29/60143097.html |language=zh-cn |script-title=zh:【李鹏逝世】中共七常委出席李鹏告别式 江泽民现身&#91;图&#93; | access-date=29 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729113150/http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2019-07-29/60143097.html | archive-date=29 July 2019 | url-status=live |date=29 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3020548/former-chinese-leader-jiang-zemin-joins-communist-party-chiefs|title = Ex-president Jiang joins mourners at Tiananmen premier's funeral|date = 29 July 2019|access-date = 29 July 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190729194840/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3020548/former-chinese-leader-jiang-zemin-joins-communist-party-chiefs|archive-date = 29 July 2019|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/92-year-old-Jiang-Zemin-makes-rare-appearance-at-Li-Peng-funeral | title=92-year-old Jiang Zemin makes rare appearance at Li Peng funeral | access-date=30 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730124031/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/92-year-old-Jiang-Zemin-makes-rare-appearance-at-Li-Peng-funeral | archive-date=30 July 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> He also attended the [[70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China|70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China]] mass parade in October 2019, marking his last public appearance prior to his death.<ref>{{cite news |title=China's Jiang confounded doubters, mended U.S. ties |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/china-jiang-zemin-obituary-idAFKBN2SK0NI |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=Reuters |date=30 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref> He did not attend the [[20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|20th Party Congress]] in October 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-leader removed from China party congress as Xi eyes more power |url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/10/22/former-leader-removed-from-chinas-party-congress-as-xi-is-set-to-secure-third-term-as-pres |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=euronews |date=22 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

== Family and personal life ==
Jiang married [[Wang Yeping]], also a native of Yangzhou, in 1949.<ref>{{cite book|title=The-Cambridge Handbook Contemporary China|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-521-78674-4|pages=326}}</ref> She was his cousin, as Jiang's adoptive mother was Wang's aunt. Wang graduated from [[Shanghai International Studies University]].<ref name="pd">{{Cite news|url=http://www.people.com.cn/english/leaders/cpcdir/jprofile.html|title=Jiang Zemin – General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee|work=People's Daily|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629135740/http://www.people.com.cn/english/leaders/cpcdir/jprofile.html|archive-date=29 June 2011|access-date=4 December 2010}}</ref> They had two sons together, [[Jiang Mianheng]] and [[Jiang Miankang]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Chris |last2=Wines |first2=Michael |title=Jiang Zemin, Leader Who Guided China into Global Market, Dies at 96 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/world/asia/jiang-zemin-dead.html |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=30 November 2022}}</ref> Jiang Mianheng went on to be an academic and businessman, working within the [[Chinese space program]], and founded Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fast-track success of Jiang Zemin's eldest son, Jiang Mianheng, questioned by Chinese academics for years |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1677891/fast-track-success-jiang-zemins-eldest-son-jiang-mianheng-questioned |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=South China Morning Post |date=9 January 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

It is believed that Jiang had a long-running friendship with the singer [[Song Zuying]], [[Chen Zhili]], and others.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.nybooks.com/media/doc/2010/02/09/china-new-ruler-chapter.pdf|title=China's New Rulers: The Secret Files|last1=Nathan|first1=Andrew J.|last2=Bruce|first2=Gilley|date=2002|publisher=New York Review of Books|isbn=1-59017-046-6|location=New York|pages=164|access-date=12 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405133554/http://www.nybooks.com/media/doc/2010/02/09/china-new-ruler-chapter.pdf|archive-date=5 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11167360/Singer-who-disappeared-six-years-ago-resurfaces-married-to-China-presidents-brother.html|title=Singer who disappeared six years ago resurfaces married to China president's brother|date=16 October 2014|access-date=19 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420010358/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11167360/Singer-who-disappeared-six-years-ago-resurfaces-married-to-China-presidents-brother.html|archive-date=20 April 2018|work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=409&Itemid=31|title=Asia Sentinel|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124021002/http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=409&Itemid=31|archive-date=24 January 2010|access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/965286/sleeping-enemy|title=Sleeping with the enemy|last=Parry|first=Simon|newspaper=South China Morning Post|access-date=14 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208080007/http://www.scmp.com/article/965286/sleeping-enemy|archive-date=8 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Fan|first=Jiayang|title=SINGING FOR CHINA: SONG ZUYING IN NEW YORK|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/03/singing-for-chinas-leaders.html|magazine=The New Yorker|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110214854/http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/03/singing-for-chinas-leaders.html|archive-date=10 January 2014|access-date=14 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1880137/humble-hometown-hesitant-talk-about-peng-liyuan-chinas-first|title=Humble hometown hesitant to talk about Peng Liyuan, China's first lady|newspaper=South China Morning Post|access-date=11 September 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911191640/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1880137/humble-hometown-hesitant-talk-about-peng-liyuan-chinas-first|archive-date=11 September 2018}}</ref> Following the rise of Xi Jinping, Song and other Jiang loyalists, including her brother Song Zuyu, fell under investigation for corruption.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=DeAeth |first1=Duncan |date=21 January 2018 |title=Chinese starlet Song Zuying, many others, under investigation for corruption by CCP |work=[[Taiwan News]] |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3346297 |url-status=live |access-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814103448/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3346297 |archive-date=14 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nakazawa |first1=Katsuji |title=Downfall of a diva mirrors Beijing's backstage politics |newspaper=[[The Nikkei]] |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Downfall-of-a-diva-mirrors-Beijing-s-backstage-politics |url-status=live |access-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813163637/https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Downfall-of-a-diva-mirrors-Beijing-s-backstage-politics |archive-date=13 August 2018}}</ref>

Jiang had a passable command of several foreign languages,<ref name="autogenerated2001">{{cite book |title= On China |last= Kissinger |first= Henry |author-link= Henry Kissinger |year= 2001 |publisher= Penguin Press HC |isbn= 978-1-59420-271-1 |chapter= Chapter 17 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/onchina00kiss_0 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/onchina00kiss_0 }}</ref> including English and Russian. Jiang remains the only paramount leader of China known to be able to speak English.<ref name="autogenerated2001" /> He enjoyed engaging foreign visitors in small talk on arts and literature in their native language, in addition to singing foreign songs in their original languages. In 1987, he sang ''When We Were Young'' and danced with [[Dianne Feinstein]], who was mayor of San Francisco at the time.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |pages=252 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k |jstor=j.ctv3006z6k |oclc=1348572572 |author-link=Christopher Marquis |s2cid=253067190}}</ref> Jiang also played the [[ukulele]] during his 1997 visit to Hawai'i.<ref name=":9" />

== Death ==
[[File:Chinese State Funeral for Jiang Zemin.png|thumb|Memorial Service for Jiang Zemin at the [[Great Hall of the People]]]]
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Jiang Zemin}}

Jiang died on 30 November 2022, at the age of 96, in Shanghai. According to the Chinese state media [[Xinhua News Agency]], he died at 12:13&nbsp;pm from [[leukemia]] and multiple organ failures.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=McDonell|first1=Stephen|last2=Wong|first2=Tessa|title= Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin dies aged 96|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63805991|access-date=30 November 2022|work=[[BBC News]]|date=30 November 2022|language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=30 November 2022|title= Jiang Zemin, Leader Who Guided China into Global Market, Dies at 96|language=zh|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/obituaries/jiang-zemin-dead.html|access-date=30 November 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On the day of Jiang's death, the government released a notice that the national flags would be flown half-staff in key locations of Beijing and diplomatic missions abroad. Foreigners were not invited to attend official mourning activities.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1 December 2022|title=China mourns former leader Jiang Zemin with bouquets, black front pages|language=en|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-papers-go-black-mourning-late-leader-jiang-zemin-2022-12-01|access-date=1 December 2022}}</ref>

Jiang's body was cremated at [[Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery]] and his ashes were scattered near the mouth of the Yangtze River.<ref name=":Chatwin">{{Cite book |last=Chatwin |first=Jonathan |title=The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |year=2024 |isbn=9781350435711}}</ref>{{Rp|page=129}}

== Honours ==
{{Main|List of awards and honours received by Jiang Zemin}}

Jiang has received state honours from several countries, including the [[Order of the Southern Cross]] from Brazil and the [[Order of José Martí]] from Cuba.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cebc.org.br/arquivos_cebc/carta-brasil-china/Ed_10.pdf|title=40 anos de relações diplomáticas entre Brasil e China|newspaper=Conselho Empresarial Brasil-China (CEBC)|access-date=2025-10-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://lademajagua.cu/relaciones-diplomaticas-cuba-china-65-anos-desde-la-historia-hacia-futuro/|title=Relaciones diplomáticas Cuba-China: 65 años desde la historia hacia el future|newspaper=La Demajagua|date=2025-09-29|access-date=2025-10-01}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Yangzhou - Wenchang Square - Jiang Zemin inscription - P1070047.JPG|thumb|Jiang's inscription engraved on a stone in his hometown, [[Yangzhou]]]]
The policies of his successors, Hu Jintao and [[Wen Jiabao]], have widely been seen as efforts to address perceived imbalances and move away from a sole focus on economic growth toward a broader view of development which incorporates non-economic factors such as health and the environment.<ref>[[Willy Lam|Lam, Willy]]. Chinese Politics in the Hu Jintao era. pp. 44–46</ref>

Domestically, Jiang's legacy and reputation is mixed. While some people attributed the period of relative stability and growth in the 1990s to Jiang's term,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20038774|title=Profile: Jiang Zemin|date=23 October 2012|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203054404/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20038774|archive-date=3 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> others argue that Jiang did little to correct systemic imbalance and an accumulation of problems which resulted from years of breakneck-pace economic reforms, leaving the next administration facing innumerable challenges, some of which may have been too late to solve.<ref name="tairenxing">{{cite news|language=zh-cn |script-title=zh:江泽民"太任性" 习近平再造中共|url=http://china.dwnews.com/news/2015-02-05/59634125.html|work=Duowei News|access-date=25 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905122623/http://china.dwnews.com/news/2015-02-05/59634125.html|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The fact that Jiang rose to power as the direct beneficiary of the political aftermath of Tiananmen has shaped the perception of his rule. Following the Tiananmen protests, Jiang threw his support behind elder Chen Yun's conservative economic policies, but subsequently changed his allegiance to Deng Xiaoping's reform-oriented agenda following the latter's "Southern Tour". This shift was not only seen as the exercise of a political opportunist, it also sowed confusion among party loyalists in regards to what direction the party was headed or what the party truly believed in.<ref name="miles">{{cite book|last1=Miles|first1=James A. R.|title=The Legacy of Tiananmen: China in Disarray|date=1997|isbn=978-0-472-08451-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/legacyoftiananme00jame/page/59 59]|publisher=University of Michigan Press |url=https://archive.org/details/legacyoftiananme00jame/page/59}}</ref> While continued economic reforms resulted in an explosion of wealth around the country, it also led to the formation of special interest groups in many sectors of the economy, and the exercise of state power without any meaningful oversight. This opened the way for the sub-optimal distribution of the fruits of growth, and an expanding culture of corruption among bureaucrats and party officials.<ref name="tairenxing" />

Historian and former Xinhua journalist [[Yang Jisheng (journalist)|Yang Jisheng]] wrote that Jiang might well have been given a positive historical assessment had it not been for his decision to 'overstay his welcome' by remaining in the Central Military Commission post after Hu had formally assumed the party leadership. Moreover, Jiang took credit for all the gains made during the 13 years "between 1989 and 2002", which not only evoked the memories of Jiang being a beneficiary of Tiananmen, but also neglected the economic foundations laid by Deng, whose authority was still paramount until the mid-1990s. Additionally, Jiang was also criticized for his insistence on writing the "Three Represents" into the party and state constitutions (see below), which Yang called Jiang's attempt at "self-deification", i.e., that he saw himself as a visionary along the same lines as Deng and Mao. Yang contended, "The 'Three Represents' is just common sense. It is not a proper theoretical framework. It's what any ruler would tell the people to justify the continued rule of the governing party."<ref name="jisheng">{{cite news|language=zh-cn |script-title=zh:杨继绳：江泽民三件蠢事声望大大下降|url=http://history.dwnews.com/news/2015-06-20/59661964.html|work=Duowei News|date=20 June 2015|access-date=22 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622210632/http://history.dwnews.com/news/2015-06-20/59661964.html|archive-date=22 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Jiang did not specialize in economics, and in 1997 handed most of the economic governance of the country to premier Zhu Rongji and remained in office through the [[Asian financial crisis]]. Under their joint leadership, [[Mainland China]] sustained an average of 8% GDP growth annually, achieving the highest rate of per capita economic growth in major world economies, raising eyebrows around the world with its astonishing speed. This was mostly achieved by continuing the process of a transition to a market economy. Additionally, he helped increase China's international standing with China joining the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2001 and Beijing winning the bid to host the [[2008 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Stella |last2=Huang |first2=Cary |last3=Mai |first3=Jun |title=Jiang Zemin: the president who took China from Tiananmen pariah to rising power |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3201571/jiang-zemin-president-who-took-china-tiananmen-pariah-rising-power |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=South China Morning Post |date=30 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Some have also associated Jiang with the widespread corruption and cronyism that had become a notable feature of the Communist power apparatus since Jiang's years in power. In the military, the two vice-chairmen who sat atop the Central Military Commission hierarchy – nominally as assistants to then chairman Hu Jintao – Vice Chairmen Xu Caihou and [[Guo Boxiong]], were said to have obstructed Hu Jintao's exercise of power in the military. Xu and Guo were characterized as "Jiang's proxies in the military". Eventually, both men were reported to have taken massive bribes, and both fell under the axe of the [[anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping]].<ref name="weakgrip">{{cite news|title=Hu Jintao's weak grip on China's army inspired Xi Jinping's military shake-up: sources|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734663/hu-jintaos-weak-grip-chinas-army-inspired-president-xi-jinpings-military|work=South China Morning Post|date=11 March 2015|access-date=25 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119195808/http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734663/hu-jintaos-weak-grip-chinas-army-inspired-president-xi-jinpings-military|archive-date=19 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the same time, many biographers of Jiang have noted his government resembled an oligarchy as opposed to an autocratic dictatorship.<ref>Kuhn, 2004; Lam, 1997</ref> Many of the policies of his era had been attributed to others in government, notably premier Zhu Rongji. Jiang was also characterized as a leader who was mindful to seek the opinion of his close advisers. Jiang is often credited with the improvement in foreign relations during his term,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2022/12/jiang-zemins-mixed-legacy/|title=Jiang Zemin's Mixed Legacy|publisher=The Diplomat|date=2 December 2022|access-date=5 June 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120023159/https://thediplomat.com/2022/12/jiang-zemins-mixed-legacy/ |archive-date=20 January 2025 }}</ref> but at the same time many Chinese have criticized him for being too conciliatory towards the United States and Russia. The issue of [[Chinese unification]] between the mainland and Taiwan gained ground during Jiang's term.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/09/25/willy.column/|title=Smoke clears over China's U.S. strategy|author=Willy Wo-Lap Lam|publisher=CNN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211211944/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/09/25/willy.column/|archive-date=11 December 2013|access-date=6 December 2013}}</ref>

== Works ==
* {{cite journal |last=Jiang |first=Zamin |author-link=Jiang Zemin |date=June 2008 |title=Reflections on energy issues in China |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12204-008-0257-7 |journal=Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University (Science) |publisher=Springer |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=257–274 |doi=10.1007/s12204-008-0257-7 |access-date=2 July 2025|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |last=Jiang |first=Zemin |author-mask=Jiang Zemin |title=Selected Works of Jiang Zemin |volume=I |year=2010 |edition=1st |publisher=Foreign Languages Press |location=Beijing |isbn=978-7-119-06025-5 |url=http://book.theorychina.org/upload/9912d625-487c-4b71-bc52-c514d6037af2/ |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=6 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206005501/http://book.theorychina.org/upload/9912d625-487c-4b71-bc52-c514d6037af2/ |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last=Jiang|first=Zemin|author-mask=1|title=Selected Works of Jiang Zemin|volume=II|year=2012|edition=1st|publisher=Foreign Languages Press|location=Beijing|isbn=978-7-119-07383-5|url=http://book.theorychina.org/upload/388036ce-a4ae-4eec-ab04-85254ea5b72f/|access-date=7 May 2020|archive-date=6 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206011157/http://book.theorychina.org/upload/388036ce-a4ae-4eec-ab04-85254ea5b72f/|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last=Jiang|first=Zemin|author-mask=1|title=Selected Works of Jiang Zemin|volume=III|year=2013|edition=1st|publisher=Foreign Languages Press|location=Beijing|isbn=978-7-119-07978-3}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|China|Politics}}
* [[Moha (meme)]], an internet meme spoofing Jiang
* [[State visit by Jiang Zemin to Japan]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{Cite book |last=Kuhn |first=Robert Lawrence |url={{GBurl|id=b4VxAAAAMAAJ}} |url-access=limited |title=The Man who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin |date=2004 |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=978-1-4000-5474-9 |language=en}}

== Further reading ==
{{Library resources box}}

* Gilley, Bruce. ''Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. 395pp. This was the first biography of Jiang to appear in the West. A comprehensive and highly readable journalistic account of Jiang's early years, his ascendancy within the Party bureaucracy, and his ultimate rise to power as Deng Xiaoping's successor in the wake of Tiananmen.
* [[Robert Lawrence Kuhn|Kuhn, Robert Lawrence]]. ''[[The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin]]'', Random House (English edition) 2005. Century Publishing Group, Shanghai (Chinese edition) 2005. The book is a general biography of Jiang with a more favorable stance towards him.
* {{cite news |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/02/content_420886.htm |title=Bringing true story of China to the world |work=China Daily |date=2 March 2005 |access-date=19 June 2015}}
* [[Willy Lam|Lam, Willy Wo-Lap]]. "The Era of Jiang Zemin"; Prentice Hall, Singapore: 1999. General Jiang-era background information and analysis, not comprehensive biography.
* {{cite journal |author1=Deba R. Mohanty |title=Power struggle in China: The post-Deng scenario and Jiang Zemin as the "first among equals" |journal=Strategic Analysis |year=1998 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=249–261 |doi=10.1080/09700169808458805 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09700169808458805?journalCode=rsan20|url-access=subscription }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{C-SPAN|33402}}
{{Jiang Zemin}}{{Navboxes
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{{CCPLeaders}}
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{{Chairmen of the Central Military Commission}}
{{15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
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{{13th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party}}
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