JIANG RETAINS FOREIGN POLICY CLOUT THROUGH SOLE STATE POST
Former president Jiang Zemin yesterday received his first foreign guests since his re-election as Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman, the only official title he now holds.
Xinhua yesterday reported that Mr Jiang met Tajikistan's president, Emomali Rakhmonov, in Zhongnanhai compound - days after he relinquished his title as state president and handed over most of his responsibilities to a younger generation of leaders during the annual session of the National People's Congress.
Analysts said the official reception hosted by Mr Jiang as CMC chairman showed he would continue to wield clout in foreign policy.
During their meeting, Mr Jiang hailed the contribution to world peace of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, his brainchild.
The organisation - originally called the Shanghai Five and comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - was set up in 1996 as a regional forum on border issues. Uzbekistan joined in 2001.
