As helicopters buzzed overhead and heightened campus security stood guard at the doors, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told roughly 800 Harvard students and professors yesterday that economic development must proceed democracy in China.

“There is no question that to develop democracy is part of our endeavor,” the third highest ranking Chinese official said through a translator, but “development in China is a big step to be taken first.”

Though elections are used at the town and village level in China, Wen said that several measures, such as improving the election system and raising education levels, must be taken before the country can transition to a socialist democracy.

The premier’s speech, held at the Business School’s Burden Hall, steered clear of such sensitive topics as Taiwan and Tibet, but was not without controversy.

Wen’s speech was interrupted by a leader of Students for a Free Tibet, who stood up, unfurled a Tibetan flag and chanted, “Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people. We will never stop fighting.”

The student was quickly escorted from the building, and it is unclear whether she will face disciplinary action.

In an address that lasted more than an hour, the premier touched upon his love of students, China’s historical development and Chinese-American political and economic relations.

To open the speech, Wen briefly donned the professor’s cap, addressing the students in the audience to give a brief history lesson on the development of Chinese culture and thought and its influences on the Western world.

“I know that China and the United States are far apart geographically; I hope my speech will help increase our mutual understanding,” he said.

The 5,000-year-old civilization is the source of pride of every Chinese citizen, he later added.

Despite this strong and rich history, Wen extolled the challenges posed today by China’s incredibly dense population, arguing that despite recent and rapid industrialization and urbanization, the country is not yet fully developed.

On the recently contentious issue of trade policy, Wen said that talks with President Bush were highly productive, noting that the President had agreed to give China more leeway in its development.

“What I propose is that we should not turn to economic and trade restrictions, the relationship is mature enough to withstand these small problems,” he said. “President Bush agreed to all my proposals.”

The U.S. faces a projected $120 billion trade deficit with China this year—the largest the U.S. has ever faced with another country, and a fact Wen did not fail to notice.

“I have to recognize that the U.S. runs quite a significant trade deficit,” he said. “We need to find a solution to the trade imbalance problem, but the answer is for the U.S. to increase its exports to china. Each side must take into interest the benefits of the other side.”