Tycoon Li Ka-shing's stature and influence in Hong Kong can be vividly captured in a long-running pun on his name, which sounds like the words 'Li Family's City'. That perception was further enhanced a week ago when President Hu Jintao shook hands with Li in a one-on-one meeting in front of television cameras while attending the elaborate ceremony marking Shenzhen's 30th anniversary as a special economic zone.
The six-minute meeting caused more than murmurs in the local business community and the media over the way Hu honoured Li and what sort of message the meeting was trying to convey.
The media made a big fuss of Hu's opening remarks in the meeting with Li, telling him that after learning that Li had come to Shenzhen, he said: 'No matter how long the time would be, I hope to have a chat with Mr Li.'
A week on, and the debate to decipher the implications of the handshake is continuing. Analysts have looked at it from all angles - why Li alone and not a group meeting, as there are other Hong Kong tycoons who have made a bigger contribution to Shenzhen? Is there a hidden political message in asking Li to support Hong Kong's government.
People across the political spectrum expressed dismay that the meeting sent a terrible message that the central government wanted to be chummy with Hong Kong's richest tycoon at a time of a growing wealth gap and social divisions in Hong Kong, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of the local business community.
Hu may be equally dismayed to read these comments as his meeting with Li was intended to send a bigger message about Beijing's attitude towards overseas investment. As one mainland official recently said, Hu's meeting with Li should have taken place years ago.
Since Hu came to power more than seven years ago he had not met any overseas businessman publicly in a one-on-one meeting. Occasionally he attended one or two international business conferences, giving a keynote speech - one of the few opportunities for overseas businessmen to get close to him.
