Jiang Zemin, then Chinese president, visited the U.S. in 1997

(Beijing) – A glance at off-hours correspondence between two veteran leaders has added a lighter dimension to the recent public appearances of former Politburo members in the run-up to the party's 18th National Congress.

Li Lanqing, who served as vice premier between 1998 and 2003, described in a newspaper article October 31 his recent correspondence with Jiang Zemin, China's president from 1993 to 2003, about some of their favorite songs from the past.