Investment bankers have nothing but plaudits for Gao Jian, the man who is turning China into one of the world's premier borrowers. A smallish, soft-spoken individual, Gao is the director general of the state debt-management department at the ministry of finance. He cuts a distinctive figure, sporting a shock of spiky hair, a worsted silk tie and chunky black, rectangular spectacles.
His English is fluent and, uncharacteristically for someone of his seniority, he does not use a translator. A graduate of Beijing University, which he attended at the age of 28 (he was born in 1949), he goes down well with international investors in roadshows and one-on-ones. Bankers say he is direct and prepared to think about issues that concern investors, such as Chinese political risk. He is even able to answer sensitive questions, although he answers the really sensitive ones in a really sensitive way. All told, bankers who know him say that even sometimes confrontational US fund managers are won over. "When you meet Gao, you feel comfortable," says one. "He's very professional and very honest. He's also got a real grip on the issues. Investors usually go away impressed."
Life has not been easy for Gao - as with many of his generation - and his career path has been complicated.