The younger Mr. Zhu, whose Chinese given name means "cloud coming, " is also a weather expert, having written a doctoral thesis on Asia's summer monsoons at the University of Wisconsin.

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ChinaScope Financial's Mr. Zhu said Beijing will also push ahead with further deregulation and liberalization in the railway industry so as to attract more private capital to invest in the sector.

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Meanwhile, China is moving up the value chain into high-tech capital goods and is poised to account for about a third of global manufacturing of advanced machinery and equipment within a decade, from about 8% today, Mr. Zhu said.

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Regulators and bankers are not cooperating enough either, said Mr Zhu.

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Charlene Barshefsky, America's embattled trade supremo, needs a success to fend off her critics and Bill Clinton badly wants something to show from Mr Zhu's visit.

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Mr Zhu does not appear to have it.

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The arrival of Mr Zhu in Washington in April may reconcentrate the presidential mind.

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Mr Zhu and his allies have been concentrating on reviving domestic demand.

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Other deputies watched aghast as Mr Zhu showed peanuts turning a glass of water black within seconds, recounts Southern Metropolis Daily.

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Mr Zhu, in other words, may have bought time for his reforms to start to work.

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But in 2006, Mr Zhu struck out on his own, realising he would be more content to publish his own scoops.

BBC: China