page_title: History of the People's Republic of China
section_title: Domestic affairs
hierarchical_section_title: History of the People's Republic of China / Jiang Zemin and the third generation (1989–2002) / Domestic affairs
caption_attribution_description: English: Cropped image of Chinese General Secretary Jiang Zemin at the Yusupov palace in St. Petersburg. Original image was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by ASDFGH
context_page_description: The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from atop Tiananmen, after a near complete victory by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War. The PRC has for seven decades been synonymous with China, but it is only the most recent political entity to govern mainland China, preceded by the Republic of China and thousands of years of imperial dynasties. The paramount leaders have been Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, while Hua Guofeng briefly acted as the leader of the country during a transition period.
  Since 1949, China has transformed from a traditional peasant society with unrelenting poverty and frequent deadly famines to the world's second-largest and fastest growing economy, with a specialty in high productivity factories and leadership in some areas of high technology. After receiving support from the USSR in the 1950s, the two nations became bitter enemies on a worldwide basis until the USSR fell in 1991.
context_section_description: Economic growth achieved a sustained high rate by the mid-1990s. Jiang's macroeconomic reforms furthered Deng's vision for "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics". Jiang laid heavy emphasis on scientific and technological advancement in areas such as space exploration. At the same time, Jiang's period saw a continued rise in social corruption in all areas of life. Unemployment skyrocketed as unprofitable SOEs were closed to make way for more competitive ventures internally and abroad. The ill-equipped social welfare system was put on a serious test. In 2000, Jiang proposed his ideology of "Three Represents", which was ratified by the Communist Party of China at the Sixteenth Party Congress in 2002.
  At the same time, Premier Zhu Rongji's economic policies held China's economy strong during the Asian Financial Crisis. Economic growth averaged at 8% annually, pushed back by the 1998 Yangtze River Floods. Standards of living improved significantly, although a wide urban-rural wealth gap was created as China saw the reappearance of the middle class. Wealth disparity between the Eastern coastal regions and the Western hinterlands continued to widen by the day, prompting government programs to "develop the West", taking on ambitious projects such as the Qinghai-Tibet railway. However, rampant corruption continued despite Premier Zhu's anti-corruption campaign that executed many officials. Corruption alone is estimated to amount to the equivalent of anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of China's GDP. 
  To sustain the increased electricity consumption, the Three Gorges Dam was built, attracting supporters and widespread criticism. Environmental pollution became a very serious problem as Beijing was frequently hit by sandstorms as a result of desertification.
  In 1990s, Project 211 and Project 985 were launched for higher education in China. In 2002, China national football team, led by head coach Bora Milutinović, entered the FIFA World Cup Final Tournament for the first time in history.
caption: Jiang Zemin
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