Editing Jiang Zemin (section)

== Leadership ==
{{Further|History of the People's Republic of China (1989–2002)}}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 citations 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 He abolished the outdated [[Central Advisory Commission]] in 1992, an advisory body composed of revolutionary party elders.

=== Economic development ===
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}}
[[File:President Clinton greets Chinese President Jiang Zemin for their bilateral meeting at Government House, Aukland, New Zealand on 11 September 1999 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Jiang with US president [[Bill Clinton]] in 1999]]
[[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)]]
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 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1332788951 |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, ''taoguang yanghui'', or "hide one's talent and bide one's 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>

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|left|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 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>

=== 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>

=== Crackdown on Falun Gong ===
{{Further|Persecution of Falun Gong}}
In June 1999, Jiang established an extralegal department, the [[610 Office]], to 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|first=Mickey|last=Spiegel|url=https://archive.org/details/fromhouseholdtof00huma|title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=2002|access-date=28 September 2007|isbn=1-56432-269-6}}</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>