Cheng Li was interviewed by Agence France Press

Government Professor Cheng Li was interviewed by Agence France Press to answer today's most asked question "Who's Hu?"  Hu Jintao is the vice president of China, and he is predicted to become the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party this fall and the president of China early next year.  However, people in Washington know very little about this man, and everyone is eager to find out who is he.  "He is cautious, but open-minded," said Cheng Li, and more "he is very realistic, which means both liberals and conservatives and even the military like him."

During his three state visits to Malaysian, Singapore and U.S, the media have portrayed him as a mystery man.  However, Hu told reporters that this description is not fair to him, and he has taken steps to prove that he is only an ordinary guy.  Furthermore, the Western media not only wanted to know about Hu's background and characters, but also wanted to know about his political views and how he is going to lead China.  However, the media has had little success answering these questions, experts said it is intentional by Hu.  Li said, "He is very cautious with the Western media," because "if the Western media portray him as a hardliner, that's not good for him, but if they depict him as China's Gorbachev, it would be downright disastrous."