While China is not a democratic or particularly open society, people have
competing interests that shape what happens there. Difficult to see from the outside
sometimes, Beijing does not represent all of China, The Ministry of Commerce does not represent all
central ministries, and Zhu Rongji does not represent all of the central leadership. Debates, uncertainty and foot-dragging within China about the benefits of changing to fit
the norms of international capitalism are additional reasons why the process of joining
took so long. Once a consensus was reached at the highest levels of leadership in early
1999, however, formal debate over the wisdom of joining was forbidden. Prohibiting
3 debate angered academics, journalists, and others who understand the importance of
airing different views, but it did not end the opposition.