Tag: Wen Jiabao

China Scraps Premier’s Annual News Conference in Surprise Move

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China’s premier will no longer hold a news conference after the country’s annual legislative meeting, Beijing announced on Monday, ending a three-decades-long practice that had been an exceedingly rare opportunity for journalists to interact with top Chinese leaders. The decision, announced a day before the opening of this year’s legislative conclave, was to many observers a sign of the country’s increasing information opacity, even as the government has declared its commitment to transparency and fostering a friendly business environment. It also reinforced how China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has consolidated…

China’s Government Offers Love, but Entrepreneurs Aren’t Buying It

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In the darkest moments of the financial crisis in 2008, former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lectured a group of U.S. government officials and business executives in New York. “In the face of economic difficulties,” he said, “confidence is more precious than gold.” The Chinese economy then was teetering. Today it’s sputtering, facing the dimmest prospects in decades, and China’s leaders are learning the hard way exactly what Mr. Wen meant. Beijing unveiled a 31-point set of guidelines on Wednesday to bolster the confidence of the private sector. After three years…