Editing Jiang Zemin (section)

=== 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}}