Cameron’s cautious speech in China

Would you like to give the Communist Party in China some advice on getting more openness, David Cameron was asked by a student at Peking University after his speech. There was nervous laughter and a bit of an intake of breath.

David Cameron chose not to go near that question with a bargepole. In his answer he said we do democracy, it works for us, you have your traditions. (The student high-tailed it out of the hall straight after the session saying he couldn’t talk to the media.)

In his speech, David Cameron did engage with the big issue of the G20 summit and the global conversation or row on economics. He said he believed China was a force for good economically but the rest of the world needed some convincing and China could help him with that.

It had to deliver on spending more and saving less to avoid “dangerous tidal waves” of capital flowing round the globe.He did raise the Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo at the banquet last night in conversation with Premier Wen. He is believed to have couched his remarks in similar form to the section of his speech today which talks about how listening to your opponents makes for better government.