Beijing Holds Centenary Commemoration for Jiang Zemin

China held a high-level commemoration ceremony on Monday (August 17, 2026) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Jiang Zemin.

Current President Xi Jinping attended and delivered a speech, highly praising Jiang Zemin’s historical contributions and strategic thinking, and commending his efforts in promoting the “1992 Consensus” and driving market-oriented economic reforms. Notably, several retired CCP elders attended the event, but former General Secretary Hu Jintao was absent.

In his speech, Xi Jinping specifically mentioned the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre (officially referred to as the “serious political turmoil of the spring and summer of 1989”), publicly praising Jiang Zemin, then serving as the Shanghai Party Secretary, for “resolutely upholding and implementing the correct decisions of the Party Central Committee” at that critical historical moment, effectively maintaining stability in Shanghai and the country. After the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Jiang Zemin succeeded as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and subsequently presided over large-scale market-oriented economic reforms in China, and was regarded by the outside world as a relatively pragmatic leader.

The commemorative meeting coincided with the passing of former Premier Zhu Rongji, a key figure in the economic reforms of the 1990s. In his remarks, Xi Jinping also emphasized that the entire Party must learn from Jiang Zemin’s noble character, maintain a tenacious “fighting spirit” in the current complex international situation, and resolutely safeguard national security and development interests.