China’s former leader Jiang Zemin, who steered the country through a transformational era from the late 1980s and into the new millennium, has died at the age of 96, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
Jiang took power in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown and led the world’s most populous nation towards its emergence as a powerhouse on the global stage.
“Jiang Zemin passed away due to leukaemia and multiple organ failure in Shanghai at 12:13pm on November 30, 2022, at the age of 96, it was announced on Wednesday,” Xinhua reported.
The news agency said the announcement of his death was made in a letter expressing “profound grief” at Jiang’s death, addressed to the whole Communist Party, military and Chinese people.
His death came after all medical treatments had failed, it said.
