"Thanks to the western development strategy, the economy in the western region has developed rapidly and people's livelihoods have been continuously improved. They were placed on track for a better life, along with the rest of the country," said Mao Zhonggen, head of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' Institute of Western China Economic Research.

Also etched in the public's memory is how Jiang responded with a cool head to a series of major challenges on the political, economic and security fronts at home and abroad, as well as dealing with natural disasters.

In the summer of 1998, China suffered from severe weather, with catastrophic flooding of the Yangtze, Nenjiang and Songhua rivers breaking records.

Officials and residents in inundated areas of Hubei and Heilongjiang provinces recalled how Jiang checked on the safety of the public and led the fight against the floods.