Premier Wen Jiabao emphasized that China would continue to promote "gradual reforms to political institutions," but focus primarily on economic development, according to a speech carried by Xinhua on February 26. 

Wen’s speech implicitly rejected any rapid move towards political liberalization. He noted that a "high level of democracy" and a "perfected legal system" were "hallmarks of a developed socialist system," but that China is currently in an "undeveloped" or "primary level of socialist development." Wen further said that China must "hold fast to the Party's basic line regarding the primary level of socialist development for 100 years without swerving."

Wen also emphasized that any political reforms would have to be domestically driven in nature, stating that "China will follow its own path in the process of democratic political construction." Chinese authorities have made moves in recent years to suppress legal, political, and social reform efforts that they view as excessively influenced by Western models.

Hu Xingdou, a Beijing-based political scientist noted that "Wen's speech is an official response to the recent open call for bold democratic reforms" [by several academics and public intellectuals]. "It's a de facto `No, we're not ready, or the timing is not right for broad and sweeping political reforms'," according to a February 27 South China Morning Post article. The same article cited Mao Shoulong, as School of Public Administration at Renmin University, as noted that the Chinese Communist Party has refused to adopt Western-style liberal democracy for fear that radical political change would risk chaos.