Ravi Shankar Narasimhan: Time and place with premier

Ravi Shankar, right, executive editor of China Daily's overseas editions, attends a seminar at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

It's well known that the premier is fluent in English and that's the language in which he greeted every foreigner. His opening remarks were in Chinese, however. The appreciation of the Chinese government and its people for the foreigners' contributions to the country's development. "We would like you to see China as a second home," he said.

It was something some of the guests informally discussed earlier. Not many world leaders, especially those of major economies, even acknowledge the role of foreigners, let alone be so effusive in praise, but Chinese leaders routinely do. And, deserved or not, we felt good.

The premier said he came to listen ... and the first to speak was John Thornton, the chairman of the Brookings Institution and legendary figure in the financial world. He made three proposals on how to tackle urbanization.

Then Michie spoke on how high-end services would boost the economy.

It was finally the turn of Peter Poechmueller, chief technical officer at Shandong Sino-chip Semiconductors, who argued passionately about how the semi-conductor industry in China should be developed.

The premier listened closely, made notes and said he wished he could listen to the views of all the foreign experts present but couldn't because of time.

It was nearly 6 pm and the guests were gearing up for dinner: There was some talk earlier on what the government's austerity drive would mean for the menu.

This is where the clockwork went a little awry.

The premier said in his opening remarks that this was the first kind of forum he had attended as premier. He spoke briefly about the Chinese economy's performance last year. The highlights: Economic growth of 7.7 percent, "no easy task" given the huge base of the world's second-largest economy; and 13 million new jobs created the most for several years. He then took most of us by surprise by responding, point by point, to all the suggestions made by the three foreign experts.

Thornton and Michie got more than a nod of appreciation and the premier lauded the "dual personality" of Poechmueller, pointing out that the Austrian called himself Shandong Man, and thanked him for putting the considerations of the Chinese semiconductor industry ahead of his cold.

He thanked everyone.

Suddenly, there was another buzz ... we had to move across the magnificent lobby to the dining hall. After all, the clock was running.

I was honored to be sitting at the "main table" and was directly opposite the premier in the 18-seat arrangement. I had a good vantage point.

Li was expansive, expressive and ebullient. Animated with Thornton, solicitous with Crook.

The dinner courses came with unrelenting time pressure; if you didn't finish in the time set for that course, it would disappear.

Chinese tradition soon started. The premier began by toasting his guests but it was also getting late. Everyone wanted (it appeared) to tell him their life story and he listened attentively.

His aides were getting jittery; it was taking too long. But the premier didn't seem to mind.

Soon he was approaching me, halfway down his table. I got strong hints that I should just clink glasses but when it came to my turn, I couldn't resist.

Without getting into details, let's say I took up a good 30 seconds. The premier then went around toasting all the guests.

I could see he hadn't eaten much, and the whole program ended at exactly 7 pm.

Just like clockwork.