Huang's rise in Shanghai politics was largely credited to the patronage of Jiang Zemin, who served as the Party Committee Secretary in Shanghai until the latter's sudden appointment to become General Secretary of the Communist Party following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Huang was seen as one of Jiang's most trusted confidantes in Shanghai, and Jiang's elevation to become the party's top leader paved the way Huang to climb higher on the party's career ladder. Huang was said to be so thankful of Jiang's patronage that while on a working visit to New York during his term of Shanghai mayor, Huang and his entourage, immediately after leaving the airport, proceeded first thing to wine-and-dine Jiang's son Jiang Mianheng.