Xi Leads Grand Gathering Marking Jiang Zemin's Birth Centenary

Beijing Holds Grand Gathering for Jiang Zemin's 100th Birth Anniversary

BEIJING - The Great Hall of the People hosted a solemn Grand Gathering on Monday, August 17, 2026, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jiang Zemin, the late Chinese leader who steered the country through a period of profound economic transformation and global integration. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech lasting approximately 40 minutes, praising Jiang's "indelible contributions" to the nation's development and calling on the party to learn from his legacy as it faces an increasingly complex international environment.

The event, held exactly a century after Jiang's birth on August 17, 1926, was attended by senior party and state leaders, including Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. Former Premier Wen Jiabao and former Vice-President Wang Qishan were also present, while former President Hu Jintao was not immediately visible in state media footage, a detail noted by political observers in Beijing.

Jiang, who died on November 30, 2022, at the age of 96, was remembered for his policy achievements and his distinctive personal style, from singing karaoke with foreign dignitaries to the "Three Represents" theory. The commemoration arrives as the party balances its reform-era legacy against the current leadership's emphasis on security, self-reliance and technological sovereignty.

Xi's Speech: Continuity, Vigilance and 'Struggle'

In his address, Xi framed Jiang's legacy within the party's historical continuity, calling for learning from Jiang's "rock-solid political conviction, dedication to people's well-being, innovative spirit, far-sightedness and strategic thinking, extraordinary courage and vision." The speech positioned Jiang's achievements as foundational to the current era without drawing direct comparisons between the two leaders' approaches.

Xi's rhetoric carried a distinctly contemporary edge. "On the new journey ahead, we must heighten our sense of vigilance against potential dangers," Xi said, a phrase that resonates with the party's focus on national security and economic resilience. He urged the audience to meet challenges with "an indomitable fighting spirit and superb skill in struggle" and "proactively meet the major tests posed by high winds and rushing waters, or even by raging storms."

The language of struggle and vigilance marks a departure from the growth-oriented discourse of Jiang's era. Analysts noted that Xi's emphasis on "tests" and "storms" implicitly acknowledged China's current challenges, including sluggish growth, demographic decline and trade frictions with the United States and Europe. The tribute cemented Jiang's place in the party's pantheon of leaders while using his legacy as a rhetorical foundation for Xi's agenda of centralized control and strategic autonomy.

The Jiang Era's Economic Transformation

Jiang's tenure as general secretary of the CCP (1989-2002) and president (1993-2003) coincided with one of the most consequential periods of economic change in modern Chinese history. His leadership oversaw China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, a landmark that reshaped not only China's economy but also global supply chains across the Asia-Pacific. WTO entry opened Chinese markets to foreign investment while integrating Chinese manufacturing into the global production network.

Domestically, Jiang's government closed chronically unprofitable state-owned enterprises, a painful process that brought significant job losses in the industrial heartland but improved the efficiency of the state sector. The era also created a commercial property market that transformed Chinese cities and fueled a construction boom, and it weathered the late-1990s Asian financial crisis while maintaining the stability of the renminbi.

Politically, Jiang introduced the "Three Represents" theory, broadening the party's base to include entrepreneurs and private business owners. The era also saw the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001 and the hosting of the APEC summit in Shanghai the same year, both signals of China's growing confidence on the world stage.

A Defining Encounter: Jiang Zemin and Japan

For Japanese observers, Jiang Zemin's legacy is indelibly linked to his September 1998 state visit to Japan, the first by a Chinese head of state since the end of the Second World War. The visit was meant to open a new chapter in bilateral relations but became a defining moment of diplomatic tension. Jiang pressed Japanese leaders on wartime history, demanding a more explicit acknowledgment of Japan's aggression in the 1930s and 1940s. In a gesture long remembered in Tokyo, he refused to give the expected toast at the state banquet, a pointed snub that underscored the depth of historical grievances.

The visit produced a joint declaration that acknowledged the past but stopped short of a written apology from Japan, satisfying neither side fully. Jiang's own family had suffered during the war, and he treated the history question as a matter of national dignity. The encounter set the tone for subsequent China-Japan relations, which have oscillated between economic cooperation and political friction ever since.

Japan's role in China's reform-era opening was not limited to diplomacy. Japanese investment and technology transfers were crucial to China's industrial development in the 1980s and 1990s, from automobiles to electronics. The interdependence forged during Jiang's era created a relationship in which political tensions coexisted with deep commercial ties. Today, that interdependence is complicated by supply chain diversification and technological competition, but the foundational links remain significant.

From WTO Integration to Technological Autonomy

The contrast between Jiang's global integration and Xi's emphasis on technological autonomy could not be starker. Jiang's China embraced globalization, joining the WTO and opening its markets to foreign competition with the expectation that integration would bring capital, technology and management expertise. The strategy lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and created a middle class that had not existed a generation earlier.

Xi's China operates in a world where those assumptions no longer hold. Trade frictions with the United States and Europe have targeted precisely the sectors where China sought to move up the value chain, from semiconductors to artificial intelligence. Export controls and investment restrictions have pushed Beijing to accelerate self-reliance in critical technologies, a costly strategy now treated as a matter of national security. The WTO framework Jiang embraced is under strain over subsidies, market access and intellectual property.

The shift also reflects a different conception of the state's role in the economy. Jiang's reforms let market forces operate even as the party kept political control; Xi's approach is more directive, with the state leading strategic industries and security considerations weighing on economic policy. The centenary commemoration thus invites reflection on how far China has traveled from WTO accession to technological sovereignty, and what that journey means for the Asia-Pacific.

Memory, Legacy and a Changing Asia-Pacific

Beyond the official commemorations, Jiang's memory lives on in Chinese popular culture. On social media, he is affectionately remembered as "The Elder" by a devoted online fan base. For many younger Chinese, his era represents a time of optimism and rapid improvement in living standards, when the internet first arrived and the country seemed to be moving confidently toward a brighter future.

The centenary also comes at a moment of transition in China's leadership ranks. Former Premier Zhu Rongji, Jiang's co-governance partner and architect of many of the era's most painful reforms, died the previous week, with his funeral scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, 2026. The passing of the two figures within days of each other marks the end of a generation that led China through its reform period. Ahead of the anniversary, state broadcaster CCTV aired a 12-part documentary on Jiang's life, and the central bank announced commemorative coins bearing his image for later in August.

The Asia-Pacific context has changed dramatically since Jiang's time. Intensifying great-power competition, US alliance-building and China's claims in the South China Sea and across the Taiwan Strait have replaced the optimism of the WTO era. The economic interdependence that once bound the region is being tested by supply chain diversification and technological decoupling.

What to Watch For

In the coming weeks, the commemorative coins and the ongoing documentary broadcast will shape public understanding of Jiang's role in China's development. Zhu Rongji's funeral, scheduled for today, offers the leadership another chance to honor the reform era and its architects.

More significant will be the policy signals emerging from the centenary. Xi's emphasis on vigilance and struggle suggests the party is preparing the public for continued external pressure and domestic sacrifice. The contrast between Jiang's opening and Xi's autonomy may become a theme in party discourse, with the former presented as a necessary historical stage and the latter as the logical response to a changed world.

For Japan and other Asia-Pacific nations, the question is whether China's trajectory leads to greater regional instability or a managed competition that avoids outright conflict. The centenary of Jiang Zemin's birth is more than a historical commemoration; it is a lens through which to view China's present and future. The era he led was defined by opening, growth and integration; the era Xi leads is defined by consolidation, security and self-reliance.

By Kenji Tanaka, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: CGTN, China Daily, Straits Times, Reuters.