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Jiang Zemin
ChinaDiplomacy

Britain, US, India send condolences over death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin

  • American envoy says Jiang worked to advance US-China ties at a ‘consequential time while managing our differences’
  • A state funeral will be held in Beijing on Tuesday for Jiang, who was Communist Party chief from 1989 to 2002

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Then-president Jiang Zemin meets Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, London in 1999. Britain’s ambassador to China noted that both Jiang and the queen, who died in September, were born in 1926. Photo: AP
Jack Lau
As part of SCMP’s commitment to providing comprehensive coverage of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin’s death and legacy, this story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.
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The United Kingdom, the United States and India are among countries that have expressed condolences over the death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.

Britain’s ambassador to China, Caroline Wilson, said Jiang was the first Chinese leader to visit the UK, had overseen the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. “The UK offers its condolences,” she tweeted on Thursday.

Wilson also noted that Jiang was born in 1926, the same year as Queen Elizabeth. The former British monarch died in September.

06:51

‘I’ve not really done anything special’: when Jiang Zemin reflected on his time as China’s leader

‘I’ve not really done anything special’: when Jiang Zemin reflected on his time as China’s leader

Nicolas Burns, America’s ambassador to China, also tweeted that Jiang had worked to advance US-China ties at a “consequential time while managing our differences – an imperative that continues today”. He said the US sent condolences to Jiang’s family and the Chinese people.

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Also on Thursday, the Indian embassy in Beijing expressed “deepest condolences on the passing of former president of the People’s Republic of China, Jiang Zemin”, in a post on Weibo.

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