China is best viewed as a paradox. Seen from western capitals, it often appears bathed in a glow of enviable destiny – the future superpower with supercharged growth. But from within Zhongnanhai, the forbidden compound in central Beijing where its leaders live and work, the country feels besieged by a perennial employment crisis, the social injustice of a vast wealth gap, restive ethnic minorities and a deep imbalance between the rigidity of Communist rule and the flexibility required by a capitalist economy.

Both views of China were on display as Wen Jiabao, the premier, spoke to the FT in an interview this week – but the latter reveals more about Beijing’s current mindset. The west may be looking to China as a source of growth, but Beijing is feeling defensive: concerned above all else to ensure that a sharp slump in growth does not trigger regime-threatening unrest. All Chinese policies can almost always be traced back to this primal fear.