Britain, US, India send condolences over death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin
- American envoy says Jiang worked to advance US-China ties at a ‘consequential time while managing our differences’
- A state funeral will be held in Beijing on Tuesday for Jiang, who was Communist Party chief from 1989 to 2002
Britain’s ambassador to China, Caroline Wilson, said Jiang was the first Chinese leader to visit the UK, had overseen the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. “The UK offers its condolences,” she tweeted on Thursday.
Wilson also noted that Jiang was born in 1926, the same year as Queen Elizabeth. The former British monarch died in September.
06:51
‘I’ve not really done anything special’: when Jiang Zemin reflected on his time as China’s leader
Nicolas Burns, America’s ambassador to China, also tweeted that Jiang had worked to advance US-China ties at a “consequential time while managing our differences – an imperative that continues today”. He said the US sent condolences to Jiang’s family and the Chinese people.
Also on Thursday, the Indian embassy in Beijing expressed “deepest condolences on the passing of former president of the People’s Republic of China, Jiang Zemin”, in a post on Weibo.
Jiang, who ruled China as Communist Party chief from 1989 to 2002, died on Wednesday from leukaemia and multiple organ failure, state news agency Xinhua said. He was 96.
His body was flown from Shanghai, where he died, to Beijing on Thursday. A state funeral will be held at the Great Hall of the People in the capital on Tuesday morning, according to state media.
Jiang Zemin’s body completes final journey to Chinese capital
Jiang was known for his colourful personality as leader, often showing off his ability to say at least a few words in multiple languages, including English, Cantonese and Japanese. He also hit the Hawaiian beach during his state visit in 1997 for a swim, joined by his aides.
He came to power in Beijing after the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989. Then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping had been impressed by Jiang’s handling of pro-democracy student protesters in Shanghai, where he was party chief, without it turning into conflict.
Jiang ensured party rule in China survived after Tiananmen amid the struggles of the post-Soviet world and Western sanctions imposed on the country in response to the crackdown.
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Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin dies at the age of 96
He developed strong ties between China and other countries, including the US, during the 1990s, navigating multiple diplomatic crises including the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 in the Kosovo war that killed three Chinese nationals.
Like many Chinese leaders, Jiang kept a low profile after his retirement in 2004, when he handed over his last post – head of the military commission – to successor Hu Jintao.
