By the summer of 1989, a series of problems threatened China’s stability. Soaring inflation was undermining the economy at home while the violent suppression of Tiananmen Square demonstrations had left it largely a pariah state abroad. Yet within a few years the nation rebounded – beginning two decades of high economic growth, membership in the largest trading club in the world and international acceptance on the global stage.

Jiang Zemin propelled China’s economic rise – Asia Times