Nearly 6,000 people attended, including senior officials, military personnel, veteran cadres, members of Jiang’s family and representatives from his hometown, according to Xinhua.
Alongside Xi and the current Politburo Standing Committee was a long line of former senior leaders.
They included former Premier Wen Jiabao and former Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, as well as former top political adviser Jia Qinglin, former Vice-President Wang Qishan, and former executive vice-premiers Li Lanqing and Zhang Gaoli.
Before the ceremony, Xi and other leaders met Jiang’s family and posed for a group photograph with them, state television reported.
During the proceedings, Xi delivered a roughly 40-minute speech that reviewed Jiang’s years at the top of the party, praising his role in maintaining political stability, advancing reform and opening, establishing the framework of the socialist market economy and leading China into the World Trade Organization.
He also repeatedly drew Jiang’s record into the political language of the present – stressing Communist Party leadership, strict party governance, crisis management and the need to balance development and security.
Xi praised Jiang’s ability to make decisive choices at critical moments and called on officials to prepare for “high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms”.
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