Xi Jinping reaffirms party must lead China’s economy at Jiang Zemin centenary
Xi Jinping told a Beijing gathering on Monday that economic growth must stay under Communist Party control, quoting Jiang Zemin’s view that “when we’re developing the economy, we have to make sure that we adhere to the…
Source: The Business Times Singapore · August 17, 2026 at 3:49 AM · AI-assisted report
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BEIJING, 17 AUGUST 2026 —
Xi Jinping told a Beijing gathering on Monday that economic growth must stay under Communist Party control, quoting Jiang Zemin’s view that “when we’re developing the economy, we have to make sure that we adhere to the party’s leadership.”
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The president, making his first public appearance in at least two weeks, spoke at a centenary event for Jiang at the Great Hall of the People. Jiang, who led China from 1989 to 2002, balanced market opening with one-party rule during political turbulence at home and abroad, Xi said.
Current leaders and retired officials attended, including Premier Li Qiang, Politburo Standing Committee members Wang Huning and Cai Qi, former Premier Wen Jiabao and former Vice President Wang Qishan. The ceremony followed the death of former Premier Zhu Rongji, who partnered with Jiang to push sweeping market reforms and China’s 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization.
Xi credited Jiang with implementing the party’s “correct decision” during what he called a “severe political disturbance,” echoing the eulogy he delivered for Jiang in 2022. The remarks framed Jiang’s record of reform and opening as inseparable from Communist Party rule.
Jiang took power after Chinese troops crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Despite domestic unrest and external pressure from the late 1980s into the early 1990s, China maintained economic momentum, Xi said. Jiang was also hailed as the principal architect of the Theory of Three Represents, which allowed private entrepreneurs to join the party as China’s market economy expanded.
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