Jiang Zemin: a personal reflection

Former Chinese “president” Jiang Zemin died recently at 96. While I was head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce NYC office, I had the unique experience of spending a few days with him and his entourage during a visit to the city while he was still Mayor of Shanghai but slated to become the next leader of China. Why I was seconded to him is something of a mystery, but it worked out well. Since I had no product or service to sell, no authority to speak for the government or any special interest, and no particular standing in the pecking order of corporate America, he seemed eager to ask many questions about ordinary life in NYC and America in general. Of special interest to him were explanations of homelessness, beggars, mental health issues, housing for ordinary people, the way local government operated, and the differences between urban and rural America.  I attended most of his meetings and social functions with corporate leaders, and he was always curious about my assessment of their products, reputations and quality of leadership.  Maybe he figured that since I had nothing to offer and nothing to request from him, that I would be a less biased voice than others he was hearing.  Who knows?

He was equally forthright in sharing his belief that Americans were technologically advanced but basically uncivilized.  Compared to China’s three millennia of history, culture and wisdom, Americans appeared to him to be semi barbarians who had only recently traded tribal warfare for cutthroat commerce. I have some knowledge of China’s own history of internecine warfare, but was uncharacteristically smart enough to keep quiet.

My few days of being a minor presence as he attended to more important matters and persons came to a pleasant, unceremonious end, and that was that.  He went on to prepare China for the 21st century with a booming economy, global trade interests, technological advancement, the building of a strong middle class, and a more relaxed political environment.  Leaving Marxism far behind, he established the pattern for Chinese state capitalism. China’s current leadership seems intent on undoing it all, but I have my doubts about being able to stuff the people back into Mao jackets. 

Years after Jiang retired, my wife and I were on one of our visits to China. Knowing about my brief connection with the “president”, our government guide asked if I would like to visit him.  I declined, not wanting to bother him with a visit from someone he would not  remember, the unknown staffer from NYC who had nothing to offer and wanted nothing from him.  I regret that decision.  I would love to have had an hour or two to ask more questions, and learn from him what he had learned during his long tenure on the world stage.