Mixed reviews over Vice-Premier's light-hearted tone
Vice-premier's humour at opening of Sino-US economic dialogue seen as refreshing by many, but others label his comments inappropriate
Wang Yang's surprisingly light-hearted tone in Sino-US talks - in which the vice-premier compared the countries' relationship to a "straight" marriage and joked about Americans' "longer" noses - reflects the more direct and personable style of the new Chinese leadership.
But the decision to open a high-level economic dialogue on such a humorous note drew mixed reviews at home. Some saw it as a welcome change from the stern image of many Communist Party leaders. Others thought it was inappropriate.
In Chinese, when we say a pair of new people, it means a newlywed couple. Although US law permits same-sex marriage, this is not what Jacob Lew and I want
Wang's remarks came at a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to start the strategic and economic dialogue in Washington on Wednesday. The newly installed vice-premier compared his relationship with Lew, who also took office this year, to a new marriage.
"In Chinese, when we say a pair of new people, it means a newlywed couple," he said, adding with a joke: "Although US law permits same-sex marriage, this is not what Jacob Lew and I want."
But Wang did not stop there. He went on to refer to News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch's recent divorce filing while explaining how China and the United States were bound together despite the inevitable differences between them.
"We cannot go for divorce like Wendi Deng and Rupert Murdoch have done," he said. "It would be too big a price to pay."
In another address to kick off the two-day annual meeting, Wang joked that he was not sure what to expect before making his first visit to the US a decade ago.
