President Jiang got what he wanted.
He went to America to bolster his image as a statesman and as a modern leader interested in education and technology. From the Chinese point of view, he succeeded in grand style.
Formally, Mr Jiang's intention was to strengthen Sino-US relations, despite essentially intractable differences over Taiwan, trade and human rights.
In Los Angeles, Mr Jiang said: 'The visit achieved the goal of enhancing new understanding, broadening common ground, developing co-operation and building a future together, thus bringing China-US relations into a new historical stage of development.' More important, however, was the informal goal of making Mr Jiang look good to US and Chinese audiences.
His general stiffness and bland bearing gave way to moments of humour and relaxed confidence, as he spoke broken but charming English and ignored protesters and occasional snubs from local politicians.
On human rights, Mr Jiang played it both ways. In Washington, he reaffirmed the official position that China had handled the crisis at Tiananmen Square in 1989 appropriately.