Building a bridge from NZ to Beijing

Premier Wen Jiabao is adamant that he remains a man of the people despite his immense power. Picture / Mark Coote

When the Premier of the world's most populous nation came calling this week, he gave his only one-on-one interview to the Herald. Deputy editor David Hastings spoke to Wen Jiabao:

For a man nearing the end of a long day's work, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao looked remarkably fresh. In good form too, laughing and joking with his staff and photographers as he posed for pictures.

It was 5.30 on Thursday afternoon and he had been on the go since 6am. In that time he had injected new life into negotiations for a free trade agreement as well as attending a round of meetings with New Zealand leaders, addressing a parliamentary lunch and meeting members of the Chinese community.

Yet there was no sign of weariness and he was as impeccably turned out as he had been at a formal treaty-signing ceremony in the morning, except that he had changed his blue tie for a red one.

I asked him about the kind of qualities needed to handle the day-to-day running of the world's biggest nation and he offered selflessness and hard work but said the Chinese people were really the ones to ask.

The only ones around at the time were members of his staff and embassy officials who, not surprisingly, spoke in admiring tones of a leader who is famous as a man of the people, possessed of the common touch and even charismatic.

One official described him as a "great personality. He speaks quietly but his voice carries much weight."

This contrasted with the tone of many potted biographies which use words like "technocrat" and "strong administrator" to give the impression of an aloof man who operates through the bureaucracy in a mechanical way.

One foreign commentator damned with faint praise when he said of Mr Wen's man-of-the-people style that he was merely the least wooden of the Chinese leaders.

To some extent this is understandable. In an interview with the Washington Post, Mr Wen emphasised the importance of standardisation and procedure and at another time he jokingly compared his brain to a computer filled with statistics.

Watching him go through the formalities of a state visit in Wellington, you could see both sides. Generally, he wore a face that would be useful in a game of high-stakes poker, but there was the odd moment - such as when he spoke from the heart at the state lunch about China's regard for New Zealand - when the man of the people shone through.

This one-on-one interview was suggested by Mr Wen, who wanted to deliver a message to the people of New Zealand through the Herald.

It was the penultimate duty of his busy day. Beforehand, he had spent three-quarters of an hour with the Chinese community. Afterwards there was a formal dinner at Premier House.

Throughout the process of arranging the meeting, his minders, perhaps worried about bridging the cultural gap, had been especially anxious to make sure there were no misunderstandings and that nothing would be lost in translation, so they insisted on providing a transcript of the interview. About a dozen people lined the corridor outside the presidential suite on the top floor of the Intercontinental Hotel, apparently waiting their turn for an audience, but, as I was shown past them, they fell in behind so we entered the suite en masse.

And when the Premier settled down for the interview after the jocular photo opportunity, so did everyone else. In my line of vision were four men at a table busily taking notes throughout the talk and a fifth sat at the stool of a baby grand piano behind Mr Wen and gazed out on the harbour.

Mr Wen began with his formal statement, his message of goodwill: "I'd like to convey to the people of New Zealand, through the Herald, the best wishes and greetings from the Chinese people. I hope that your paper will carry more - comprehensive and objective - reports on China in the future."

The interview then unfolded through the translator. Obviously well practised, Mr Wen was an expert in segmenting his replies to fit the pace of the translation. The effect was to produce an interview in slow motion; a bit like one of those long-distance live crosses on television when there seems to be an excruciating pause between question and answer and the interviewer and subject get slightly out of kilter.

Yet Mr Wen's points come through clearly enough. Perhaps it is the technocrat in him that enables him to enumerate every answer in a series of easily digestible points.

Why is New Zealand important to China? Three reasons. First, because New Zealand was one of the first Western countries to recognise China and there are no issues left from history.

Second, because of the "three firsts" - New Zealand was the first country to sign an agreement on China's entry into the World Trade Organisation, it was the first to recognise China as a full market economy and it was the first to start negotiations for a free trade agreement.

And third, despite obvious cultural differences, both countries believe in a diversified world and a multicultural society.

The "three firsts" is an unmistakably Chinese concept but it has well and truly crossed the cultural divide. It is now a term you will hear used as unselfconsciously by Wellington bureaucrats as by those in Beijing.

But of course, the big issue on everyone's mind in Wellington was whether the fourth first can be achieved - the first free trade agreement with China.

At the press conference earlier in the day an obviously delighted Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that the process was to be accelerated with a view to completing it in one or two years, meaning New Zealand was still in with a chance to beat Australia, which is aiming for two years.

But in the interview Mr Wen seemed more positive still.

"New Zealand will be the first developed country to sign an FTA agreement with China," he said, leaving no room for doubt.

He gave an understated smile when answering a question about whether New Zealand had any reason to worry about - or feel threatened by - stresses caused by China's exceptionally rapid growth.

He is fond of quoting China's staggering growth figures - between 1978 and 2005 an 11-fold increase in gross domestic product from $350 billion to $3.6 trillion - but he made no bones about the stresses caused.

In his precise way he enumerated them as two contradictions. The first was the difference between the level of economic development and people's demand for a better life.

"Underdevelopment and unbalanced development are still the major issues for China's economy," he said. "While you may see high-rises in the eastern part of China, you will also see that farmers are still using very old cultivating methods in China, especially in the western rural areas."

The second contradiction was between "economic development on the one hand and the pressure from population, resources and environment on the other".

To drive home the magnitude of this particular problem, he emphasised that every year China has to find jobs for 24 million people in the cities.

"Environmental pollution, the large-scale consumption of energy resources and other issues in the course of industrialisation have put our economic development under formidable pressure."

Despite the scale of the problem, he clearly remains an optimist, believing the solution lies in a scientific approach to development and work to build a harmonious society.

And this is where the wry smile came in. He argued that there was no threat to New Zealand, only opportunity.

"New Zealand has rich agricultural, forestry and animal husbandry resources, as well as advanced technologies and a developed economy. China has a huge market, rich human resources, and a great potential for further growth."

China was New Zealand's fourth-largest trading partner and he expected it to move up the list.

Despite his precisely phrased discussions of the big issues, Mr Wen projected a degree of warmth in person that was scarcely hinted at during his formal, public appearances.

Yet he was hardly charismatic, more understated. And whatever anyone else might think, he has no doubts about who he is: "I am from the people."

WEN JIABAO
Premier of China
Born: Tianjin, 1942
Training: Beijing Institute of Geology
Joined: Communist Party of China, 1965
Noted for:
* Economic reform
* Social reform
* Tackling Sars and Aids
In his own words:
"If a thing is in the interests of the country, I will devote myself to it in life and death. How can I evade a thing for fear of personal woe, or pursue a thing just for personal wealth?"