PREMIER WEN’S EMMY AWARD

PREMIER WEN’S EMMY AWARD

The shock waves that accompanied Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s CNN interview last September have subsided, but not permanently. For those who didn’t see the program, it was the reclusive Premier’s first interview in five years.

He granted the privilege to CNN’s most respected global personality, Fareed Zakaria. During the course of a wide-ranging 45-minute interview, Zakaria raised a number of topics that are utterly taboo to discuss within China. There were a number of breathtaking and dramatic moments as Premier Wen and his interpreters struggled to cope with a situation that would have registered as an unimaginable insult in China’s hierarchical society.

It was likely the drama of the moment that won Zakaria an Emmy nomination for the interview, but on reflection the interview was memorable for entirely different reasons. Last week CNN aired the interview again, and I was amazed at how much it revealed. (You can watch it yourself by going to http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/ on the CNN website or simply google the search terms Fareed Zakaria gps).

For those who doubt the Chinese leader’s mastery of capitalism, watch how he handles questions about the free market. To Zakaria’s apparent surprise, Premier Wen refers eloquently to the concepts from Adam Smith’s seminal books on capitalism. Wen makes the case that Smith’s “invisible hand” of market forces can coexist with the “visible hand” of government intervention.

He was prophetic. Within six months of the first airing, both Beijing and Washington had pumped more than a trillion dollars of stimulus money into their respective economies to stave off a global financial catastrophe.

Premier Wen also refers to the twelve books of the “Meditations” written by the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. In his writings, the stoic Aurelius argues against indulgence in emotion, a skill which, he says, will free a man from the tumult of the material world. He says the only way a man can be harmed is to allow his emotional reaction to overpower him. Wen argues against over-reaction to the financial crisis.

This is what is so memorable about Wen’s rare interview, not the emotional restraint we see as the interviewer broaches Chinese taboos. Instead it is Wen’s intellectual breadth and worldliness that gives a clear sign to the world that we are dealing with a Chinese leadership which is determined to engage itself with the real, post-communist, unabashedly capitalist world.

Asked if he is nervous about Chinese holdings of U.S. debt, Premier Wen makes it clear that he wishes for constructive engagement with the U.S. economy for many decades to come.

On the issue of China’s status as a superpower, Premier Wen demurs. He says China has no claim to be a superpower and no desire to infringe on America’s claim to superpower stature. Clearly, the Premier is taking a “walk softly and carry a big stick” approach to China’s international status. China certainly has the money and the political clout to wield more international power, but Wen deftly avoided being snared. He ducked questions about using Chinese influence to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions although he does take credit for helping manage ongoing problems in North Korea.

Surprisingly, Premier Wen tacitly admits to the imperfections of the Chinese justice system by arguing that it must be reformed. The rule of law is essential to civil order, and currently China is plagued by tens of thousands of angry demonstrations every year. Provincial courts and administrators have made it extremely difficult for China to impose the regulations and laws essential to a smoothly-functioning capitalist system.

The Chinese Premier also acknowledges the need to move towards a governmental system that is more representative of the will of the people. Not surprisingly he stops well short of a call for American-style democracy. But it is significant that Wen represents a force for gradual change and reform.

He is a subtle and restrained man. As an admirer of Adam Smith, Premier Wen has sent a signal that he is well-informed and sincerely committed to the principles of capitalism.

I highly recommend that you set aside 45 minutes to watch Premier Wen’s interview. In the vast wasteland of television, it is an enlightening and subtle experience that is essential to understanding the leadership of modern China.