[1] Instead of concentrating on GDP growth in large cities and rich coastal areas, Wen advocated for advancing policies considered more favorable towards farmers and migrant workers.

However, his family came under scrutiny by investigative journalists for having accumulated a massive fortune during his time in government, casting a cloud over his legacy shortly prior to his retirement.

Born in Beichen district of the City of Tianjin, Wen Jiabao went to the Nankai High School from which the first premier of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai graduated.

Outgoing Premier Zhu Rongji showed his esteem for Wen by entrusting him from 1998 with the task of overseeing agricultural, financial and environmental policies in the office of Vice-Premier, considered crucial as China prepared to enter the World Trade Organization.

By the end of the 1990s Wen and Zhang Peili were the main investor and founder of Ping An Insurance, which was established with the help of Hong Kong tycoon Cheng Yu-tung's family through real estate firm New World Development.

Unlike Zhao, who was purged from the party days later for "grave insubordination" and lived under house arrest in Beijing until his death in January 2005, Wen survived the political aftermath of the demonstrations.

[10] Wen entered the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest ruling council, in November 2002, ranked third out of nine members (After Hu Jintao and Wu Bangguo).

During the transition of authority as Hu Jintao assumed the general secretary and presidency in November 2002 and March 2003 respectively, Wen's nomination as premier was confirmed by the National People's Congress with over 99% of the delegates' vote.

Wen's broad range of experience and expertise, especially cultivated while presiding over agricultural policies under Zhu Rongji, has been important as the "fourth generation" sought to revitalize the rural economy in regions left out by the past two decades of reform.

Unlike Jiang Zemin and his protégés on the Politburo Standing Committee, who form the so-called "Shanghai clique", both Wen and Hu hail from, and have cultivated their political bases, in the vast Chinese interior.

Many have noted the contrasts between Wen and Hu, "men of the people", and Jiang Zemin, the flamboyant, multilingual, and urbane former mayor of Shanghai, the country's most cosmopolitan city.

Along with general secretary Hu Jintao, the government focused on the "Three Rural Issues", namely, agriculture, the countryside, and farmers, and emphasized these core areas as requiring further work and development.

The Hu-Wen administration abolished the thousand year old agricultural tax entirely in 2005, a bold move that significantly changed the rural economic model.

[20]: 217 On 15 March 2005, after the anti-secession law was passed, by a majority of 2,896 to nil, with two abstentions by the National People's Congress, Wen said: "We don't wish for foreign intervention, but we are not afraid of it."

Ultimately, Wen stayed on the Premier job, and was responsible for the drafting of the important speech delivered by Party general secretary Hu Jintao outlining China's direction in the next five years.

[24] On 18 March 2008, during the press conference after the 2008 National People's Congress, Wen toed the government line in blaming supporters of the Dalai Lama for violence in Tibet, and said Chinese security forces exercised restraint in confronting rioting and unrest in the streets of Lhasa.

In the 2011 Two Sessions Work Report, Wen stated his support for e-commerce in China, describing it as a mechanism to expand domestic consumption.

[26]: 75 In his final address as China's prime minister Wen warned of the nation's growing divisions between rich and poor, the hazards of unchecked environmental degradation and the risks posed by unbalanced economic growth.

While party leaders are often shown on state television looking rather stiff and sitting motionlessly, Wen's on-site image and candid nature attracted a large popular following of Chinese citizens.

[33] Wen also met with European Union leaders at a China-EU conference in late November 2009, where he refused calls for China to revalue its Yuan and re-examine its foreign exchange regime.

On most social issues Wen seems to be moderate, with his brand of policies based around societal harmony as prescribed by the Scientific Development Concept, the leading ideology of the administration.

The authorship of the articles was attributed separately to Wen Jiabao, particularly 26 February piece "Our Historical Tasks at the Primary Stage of Socialism and Several Issues Concerning China's Foreign Policy".

The article advanced Wen's "peace doctrine" in global affairs, as well as what appeared to be inclinations towards fostering social democracy and advocacy of universal values.

Wen has openly talked about democracy and increased freedoms in his speeches and interviews with foreign correspondents, although much of it was deemed "sensitive" commentary and censored in state media.

Wen remarked that "someone who speaks is not a criminal, someone who listens is duly warned" (Chinese: 言者无罪，闻者足戒, which alludes to the classical work Shi Jing) at an internal party conference in 2009, an event reported on Xinhua and other state networks.

[44] Wen has progressively amplified his liberal rhetoric as his Premiership continued, remarking in August 2010 that "Without political reform, China may lose what it has already achieved through economic restructuring".

His quick responses and visits to the scenes of various disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, has earned him a considerable reputation as an approachable leader in touch with the experiences of the masses.

Dissidents such as Yu allege that Wen's parade of appearances on Chinese media is a carefully managed public relations campaign designed to distract people from real issues.

On the other hand, Li Datong, a pro-democracy advocate, in an interview with the Associated Press, stated that "among the top Chinese leaders, who else speaks about democracy?

[55] Wen also topped a list of "10 leaders to watch" in 2010 released 19 January by Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm.