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Letter from China: Wen reveals himself as a new kind of Chinese leader
April 20, 2007 10:17 AM
Copyright The International Herald Tribune
By Howard W. French
Published: April 19, 2007
SHANGHAI: When Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China set off for a historic visit to Japan nearly two weeks ago, pundits in this region set the bar remarkably low: the very fact of the first visit by a Chinese leader in almost seven years was an achievement in itself, the line went.
If the trip could proceed without ugly incident, Wen’s speech to the Diet, the first in 22 years by a Chinese, would secure a place for the visit in diplomatic annals.
Fortunately for the prospects of the most important relationship in Asia, there was no incident. Some have complained about scant progress in the two areas that have most bedeviled China-Japan relations of late: a dispute over an area of the East China Sea thought to be rich in petroleum reserves, and then - surprise - the “history issue,” whose persistence so long after World War II can only honestly be seen as a failure of both countries.
In two and a half days on Japanese soil, it must be said that Wen made an extraordinary effort to move things forward, leading to the most important development from the trip and one that transcends China-Japan relations altogether.
The Japanese trip capped an impressive period for the Chinese leader, during which he has emerged as perhaps Asia’s most accomplished and sure-footed politician.
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To understand what a minefield Sino-Japanese relations can be, the last visit by a Chinese leader to Japan melted down when President Jiang Zemin lost his temper before Japanese audiences. He ended up ranting about history in ways that only comforted Japanese, who hold stereotypes of China as pushy and more than a little uncouth.
Irrepressible nationalist currents exist in both countries, and they lie in wait to bait or to chastise public figures from either side. Whether officials are making demands or seen to be making concessions, there is bound to be static.
To his very great credit, Wen largely escaped that pattern. Eschewing threats, he virtually smothered his hosts in good grace and good will.
In a 40-minute speech before the Diet, Japan’s parliament, he acknowledged that “Japanese leaders have stated many times their stance on history-related problems, publicly acknowledged their invasion, and expressed their deep remorse and regret to victimized nations.”
This, mind you, came on the heels of a major flap over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s controversial comments to the effect that there was no evidence that Japan’s military had forcibly recruited sex slaves to serve at its pleasure.
But that was not all. Wen cited Japan’s massive development assistance to China during the postwar period, something that is seldom mentioned in Chinese discussions of the relationship, and offered the comment that “the Chinese people will never forget this.”
Wen then went the extra mile, literally, interrupting his morning jog to chat with the locals.
“Are you happy to see Sino-Japanese relations improving?” he asked one woman. “This is the result of our joint effort.”
More than mere graciousness for its own sake, Wen has very astutely backed his Japanese counterpart into an even more difficult position. Without even mentioning the words “Yasukuni Shrine,” Wen has made it far harder for Abe to visit the Shinto memorial for the country’s war dead, which has become an emotional touchstone in both Japan and China, than if he had lectured his hosts.
Pressure from nationalist voices in Japan for Abe to visit the shrine are certain to grow, but to do so now, after Wen’s inspired soft shoe, would be judged by the world as a gratuitous insult.
Wen, like an unusually large number of Chinese leaders, has an engineering background. Many of his peers, including his boss, President Hu Jintao, wear a certain look - stiff and distant and, well, slightly engineered. But in his four years in office, Wen has emerged as a compassionate and nimble public figure: in short, a new kind of Chinese leader who comes across as a real human being and is more comfortable ad-libbing where others hew to the script in a slumber-inducing manner.
In reality, Wen, too, mostly sticks closely to the script - a fact that he himself revealed in an unusually candid discussion of his preparation for the Japan trip. “This is the most important task since I took office,” he told an audience of Chinese residents in Japan. “I did a lot of preparation. Every sentence is written by myself, and I did all the research work myself.
“Why? Because I feel our nation’s development has reached a critical moment. We need to have a peaceful and conducive international environment.”
Posted at 10:17 AM