Jiang puts his case to big business

By Andrew Stone

At 73, Jiang Zemin is the oldest leader at Apec.

But the doughty Chinese communist showed a spring in his step when he breezed into a room of unreconstructed capitalists at Ellerslie on Saturday night. The sea of dark-suited businessmen stood and applauded as the leader of 1.2 billion consumers moved briskly across the red carpet.

Hailed by former cabinet minister Philip Burdon as one of the most remarkable men of the latter part of the century, Mr Jiang used the CEO Summit dinner to make a pitch for investment in his "socialist market economy." Though preaching -- in Mandarin -- mostly to the converted, he painted a largely rosy picture of China's economy.

A translator told 375 guests: "The future is bright for China's economic development and modernisation drive."

Besides United States President Bill Clinton, Mr Jiang is the other superpower leader in Auckland for Apec and he is surrounded by the same fearsome security. The main difference with Mr Jiang is that his Chinese minders remain determined to shield their leader from any glimpse of dissent.

A small man with trademark glasses and a toothy grin, Mr Jiang cannot compete with Mr Clinton in the media superstar stakes.

But he has been just as busy on the sidelines, holding a series of bilateral meetings with friends and former foes.

Unlike Mr Clinton, whose term ends next year, no one is predicting when Mr Jiang might leave the stage.

His trip to New Zealand comes amid a heavy schedule of globetrotting and on the eve of the biggest Chinese event of the year: the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China complete with a vast display of military might through Beijing. Though his economy faces big challenges reforming its financial sector and ramshackle state enterprises, Mr Jiang pledged to the business executives that he was committed to further reform.

As the executives -- representing some of the world's biggest investors -- applauded his remarks, Mr Jiang beamed with success. Another mission accomplished.