• Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who took office following the Tiananmen Square riots, passed away at the age of 96.
• He ruled over a period of wide-scale opening up and rapid growth, making him one of the key characters in recent Chinese history.
• His passing occurs at a time when Covid restrictions are the focus of some of the most significant protests China has seen since Tiananmen.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who took office following the Tiananmen Square riots, passed away at the age of 96.

He died on Wednesday shortly after noon, according to state media.

He ruled over a period of wide-scale opening up and rapid growth, making him one of the key characters in recent Chinese history.

His passing occurs at a time when Covid restrictions are the focus of some of the most significant protests China has seen since Tiananmen.

Jiang came to power following the brutal crackdown on demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989, which caused China to become isolated internationally.

Hard-line reactionaries and reformers engaged in a vicious power battle at the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party as a result of the incident.

Jiang, who had previously been seen as a plodding bureaucrat, was consequently promoted to a high position. In the hopes that he would bring together conservative and more liberal groups, he was picked as the compromise leader.

Under his leadership, a powerful economy was created, the Communists tightened their hold on authority, and China ascended to the top of the global power structure.

In 1997, he presided over the peaceful transfer of Hong Kong, and in 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization, integrating its economy with that of the rest of the world.

The heavy-handed crackdown on the religious sect Falun Gong in 1999, which was seen as a threat to the Communist Party, was criticized, and political reforms were also set aside.

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