What to make of comments by the Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, during a recent visit to Shenzhen when he called – remarkably for such a senior official – for “political reform” and a loosening of the “excessive political control” of the Communist party itself?

There’s the symbolism of his visit to Shenzhen, the same place where Deng Xioaping triggered the country’s economic reforms. But it’s Wen’s words themselves that have triggered so much interest. “If there is no guarantee of reform of the political system, then results obtained from the reform of the economic system may be lost, and the goal of modernisation cannot be achieved,” Wen was quoted as saying.

In a system which concluded after the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and east Europe that it should guard against unleashing similarly unpredictable consequences, the prime minister has touched on awkward issues. The question remains, however, precisely what weight should be attached to the remarks of a man near the end of his time in the politburo, who has made reformist noises in the past but never really delivered.

“Did Wen go off message?” was the question asked by the Wall Street Journal, while the Economist queried whether it could really be believed. They are doubts that remain to be resolved, but what does seem clear is that a fear appears to be emerging among some in the party that the world’s second largest economy might require a different political settlement for entirely pragmatic economic reasons: the concern that the current system might be a hindrance rather than a help to China‘s economic growth. Wen’s comments – taken at face value – would appear to mark a change in the formula that has governed China since Deng inaugurated his economic reforms: that political reform should play second fiddle to that on the economic front.

What is true, too, is that his comments already have created some room for calls for a “new generation of reformers” in some state-controlled media, while others have carefully avoided parsing his remarks. Watch this space.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/29/wen-jiabao-china-reform