Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin was honoured with a state memorial service in Beijing.
Jiang, who took power following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest crackdown, will be remembered for guiding the country through a decade of burgeoning economic growth and prosperity.
He oversaw significant events such as China’s admission to the World Trade Organization and the British handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese.
According to the Chinese Communist Party, he died last Wednesday of leukaemia and multiple organ failures. He was 96.
President Xi Jinping delivered the eulogy in a near hour-long ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, where he “Comrade Jiang’s” decisive leadership.
“He had the extraordinary courage to make bold decisions and the great courage to carry out theoretical innovation at critical moments,” he told a packed hall of dignitaries in black suits.
