Jinan was the first major urban center to be captured by the communists (the Siege of Changchun had begun on May 23 already, but the city was only captured on October 19, 1948). Zhou Enlai hence referred to the Battle of Jinan as the starting point for the "three great battles" (), namely the Liaoshen Campaign (the first stage of which had already begun on September 12, 1948, i.e., a few days prior to the Battle of Jinan), the Huaihai Campaign, and the Pingjin Campaign that established communist control over northern China.