Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin dies aged 96

Shanghai, China, Nov 30 (EFE).- Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who held office between 1993 and 2003, has died on Thursday aged 96, China’s official state news agency Xinhua reported.

In a brief statement, Xinhua said that the former president died in the eastern city of Shanghai, where he led the local branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the 1980s.

Jiang died of leukemia and multiple organ failure, Xinhua added.

The politician, who was born in the eastern town of Yangzhou in 1926, was appointed secretary-general of the CCP in 1989.

In 1993 he became China’s president, a position he held until 2003.

Jiang’s last public appearance was on October 1, 2019, to mark China’s National Day and the 17th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of China.

Jiang’s tenure was marked by the continuity of the so-called “open door” economic policies of his predecessor and mentor, Deng Xiaoping, which saw China open up to foreign investment.

Some of Jiang’s milestones include China’s access to the World Trade Organization in 2001 and securing the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He was also well known for clamping down on the Falun Gong spiritual movement.EFE

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