Agenda Setters: Where are they now... Wen Jiabao

As the countdown begins to silicon.com's seventh annual Agenda Setters poll of tech's 50 most influential individuals, it is time to look back at those who held top 10 positions in 2005. Today we catch up with last year's number six, Wen Jiabao.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao earned a top spot on the Agenda Setters list in 2005 for leading what many expect will be the next IT superpower - and for the influence the government will have in determining whether the country lives up to those expectations.

Since then China's technology economy has continued to grow in leaps and bounds.

Software, outsourcing and consumer technology are just some industries that are growing at phenomenal rate and contributing to one-sixth of China's GDP. Wen, along with president Hu Jintao, are heavily promoting China's counter stance on piracy, citing intellectual property rights as one of the most crucial issues for foreign investment and China's development.

The Chinese government is investing heavily in technology by supporting new start-ups with a number of incubator programmes and bankrolling some larger companies in the hope they will fuel more growth.

China also pumps out around one million IT and engineering graduates every year and later this year 3G technology is expected to boost sales of mobile phones, which are already owned by 400 million Chinese citizens.

Still, though China boasts a massive population of 1.3 billion only 110 million people are connected to the internet, which reflects the geographic disparities when it comes to tech adoption. It is largely the eastern cities that receive this sort of investment, while the west is largely agricultural and home to 18 per cent of the world's poor.

Recently Wen called for urgent government reform to ensure it is ruled by law, focused on service, and bound by duty and efficiency. "Our powers are given by the people and we must serve the people heart and soul," he said.

So can Wen make the grade again this year? China is still a key issue for European businesses - if not more so than it was a year ago. But it remains to be seen whether the Agenda Setters panel will look to reward politicians as the individuals driving change.

silicon.com's Agenda Setters panel, made up again of CIOs, analysts, VCs, consultants, lawyers, academics and other experts, convenes in September with the results revealed at the end of the month. If you want to pass on your comments for our experts - about Wen Jiabao or any other contender - drop us an email at editorial@silicon.com.