He was China's cunning leader: Who is Jiang Zemin?
Jiang, who was previously ridiculed as 'He talks like a manager of a tractor factory' because he was a manager of a tractor factory, started a great struggle for influence against the Communist Party staff after he was appointed as the General Secretary of the Communist Party.
Born in 1926, Jiang Zemin started working as a manager in various factories after graduating from electrical engineering and suddenly found himself in the political arena with his successes in his field.
He was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1982 and to the Politburo in 1987.
In 1989, he made a big surprise and was appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party, and in 1993 he was appointed President.
Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as president of China from 1993 to 2003. Jiang was the third paramount leader of China from 1989 to 2002. He was the core leader of the third generation of Chinese leadership, one of four core leaders alongside Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Xi Jinping.
FIGHT AGAINST DENG
Jiang, who had previously worked as a manager in a tractor factory and was ridiculed by some Western experts as 'He speaks like the manager of a tractor factory', embarked on a major struggle for influence against Deng and the Communist Party staff in 1989, when he was appointed as the General Secretary of the Communist Party.
Since the final decisions were always made by Deng, Jiang, who remained in his shadow, took a major political initiative in 1995 and began to strengthen his environment and take actions that would consolidate his power.
Jiang, who held a summit with Clinton during his visit to the USA in 1995, suddenly began to attract the attention of the whole world. Because in this way, Jiang was giving the message that he was free from Deng's shadow and that China was taking Russia's seat against the USA. In addition, it gained great prestige in the eyes of the public and the army by conducting a large military exercise in the China Sea during the presidential elections held in Taiwan in 1996.
Being aware of the power of those he was fighting against in domestic politics, Jiang acted very wisely and constantly avoided activities that would attract their reaction. Because, unlike Deng and Mao, he had no military or war experience and also did not have a career within the Communist Party.