China's 'Super Salesman' seals billion-dollar deals

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visit a supermarket in Berlin on Oct 10, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

The classic three-point tactic in salesmanship, experts say, imparts a clear message: "We are good," "Here's how good we are," and "We are good for you."

Li sent a similar message to almost all the countries he visited, each time tailored to meet the needs of the host country and China's ability to fulfill them.

For instance, before a breakfast meeting with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev on Dec 15, Li and his team reviewed a national infrastructure upgrade plan released by Nazarbayev a week earlier and noted the country's strong demand for steel, cement, plate glass and thermal power plants.

When Li met Nazarbayev at Beijing Plaza in the central district of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, the premier brought to the table a package offer of infrastructure-related equipment and technology. The two soon signed an agreement for future projects worth $18 billion.

Li's approach to business on overseas visits is pragmatic, experts say.

"Premier Li showed a sincere and frank diplomatic style in his foreign visits," said Chen Fengying, director of the World Economy Institute at China's Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a foreign policy think tank.

"I think it's fair to call it smart diplomacy based on our nation's power," Chen added. "Li is always well prepared when he goes into a meeting with his hosts."

Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Li's strenuous efforts in promoting Chinese equipment and technology overseas is, in essence, making good use of China's comparative advantages in infrastructure construction in the chain of international labor.

"What Premier Li has been doing in the past year is in accordance with our country's developing momentum," he added.

"We've become one of the major countries now. He demonstrates the confidence of China as a major economy."