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Jiang Zemin
ChinaPolitics

Chinese leadership mourns ‘insurmountable loss’ of Jiang Zemin as former president dies aged 96

  • Jiang, who led China into the WTO and presided over Hong Kong’s return to Beijing’s rule, died on Wednesday from leukaemia and multiple organ failure
  • Xi Jinping expresses his grief at loss of ‘great Marxist’, while official obituary praises his ‘outstanding’ leadership and peaceful handing over of power

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Jiang Zemin, China’s Communist Party chief from 1989 to 2002, died on Wednesday afternoon, state media said. Photo: AFP
Jun Maiin BeijingandKinling Loin Hong Kong
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Former president Jiang Zemin, one of China’s most influential leaders who spearheaded the country’s accelerated opening up and growth into a global powerhouse, died on Wednesday in Shanghai. He was 96.

Jiang, who oversaw China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 and cultivated warm ties with the United States, died of leukaemia and multiple organ failure at 12.13pm, according to state news agency Xinhua.

An official obituary published by the news agency hailed him as a “highly prestigious and outstanding leader”.

It continued: “Comrade Jiang Zemin’s passing is an insurmountable loss to our party, our military and our people.”

President Xi Jinping described Jiang as a “great Marxist”, a “socialist warrior” and an “outstanding leader” during a meeting with his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith.

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Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin dies at the age of 96

Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin dies at the age of 96
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