China’s leaders have praised the late Jiang Zemin as a loyal Marxist-Leninist who oversaw their country’s rapid economic rise, while maintaining rigid Communist Party control over society.

The country’s current president, Xi Jinping, praised Mr Jiang in an hour-long address at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People as senior officials, military brass and rank-and-file soldiers stood at attention.

President Xi emphasised Mr Jiang’s role in maintaining political stability, in reference to his sudden elevation after a leadership reshuffle following the forceful suppression of demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Mr Jiang succeeded Zhao Ziyang as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 1982.

“Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized that our party is leading the people in a great struggle to build socialist modernisation, and inevitably will encounter many complex situations,” President Xi said.

He added: “The severe situation at home and abroad and the confrontation and struggle between different social systems and different ideological systems often test every member of our party.”

Mr Jiang died of leukaemia and multiple organ failure on 30 November, aged 96.

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This was just days after China’s largest street protests – since 1989 – driven by anger over the nation’s zero-COVID policy.

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Authorities flooded the streets in an attempt to crack down on protesters as an unknown number of people were detained. In recent days, there has been a sign the restrictions are being eased.

As the nation mourned Mr Jiang, a three-minute silence was held and trading was paused on Shanghai’s stock exchange.

On Monday, state broadcaster footage showed Mr Xi, his predecessor Hu Jintao and others bowing before Mr Jiang’s body, which was laid out in a bed of flowers and evergreens and covered in a party flag at a military hospital in Beijing.

The body was sent for cremation at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, where many Chinese leaders are buried.

Crowds stood silently as Jiang’s glass-topped coffin was driven slowly to the cemetery amid high security, possibly as a means of safety due to recent protests.

China has called for strict adherence to the “zero-COVID” policy across the country.

This has seen millions of residents confined to their homes, subject to mass testing and enduring sudden lockdowns in areas where cases or their close contacts have been detected.

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