Paul Maidment
Editor, Forbes Media
China's Vice-Premier Li Keqiang cuts the polished, poised figure of the world leader he is about to become. Tipped to succeed Wen Jiabao as prime minister when China's leadership changes generations in 2012, China's headliner in Davos delivered a flawless summary of China's five year plan to deliver sustainable long-term growth--maintain steady and fast GDP growth, encourage domestic demand, modernize strategic industries, particularly green tech ones, continue with economic reform, minimize the income gap, develop urbanism across China, create jobs and spread the social safety net. Down to the white shirt, red tie and well-cut suit, he could have been a western chief executive doing a roadshow.
To round it off, there was a five-point action plan for China's growing global citizenship: continue to cooperate over recovery from the global financial crisis; fight protectionism and conclude the Doha round of trade talks; pursue balanced development, both North/South and South/South; jointly tackle the global issues of climate change, energy and food security, public health, and natural disasters; and improve the structure of global governance to reform financial regulation, international financial institutions and increase the involvement of developing nations. And all done with only the gentlest jibes against the developed countries. "We came to see the future," said one (Western) participant.
What wasn't to like in such a perfect world?
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