Kinder and gentler

last updated 8 January 2015

Beijing

Zhu Rongji, the man behind China’s economic transformation to a market economy, stepped down as prime minister this week, in the country’s most peaceful Communist power transfer. His successor, Wen Jiabao, is a quiet, unassuming person, a stark contrast to the forceful, dynamic Zhu. “It is generally believed that I’m quite mild-tempered,” Wen said. “But I am also someone with principle, with determination.” As a party official, Wen accompanied a superior on a sympathetic visit to striking students in Tiananmen Square in 1989, shortly before the government began killing the protesters. His boss was jailed for the incorrect behavior, but Wen was not disciplined.