Chinese President Finds Himself Deep in Capitalist Den

CHICAGO —  Chinese President Li Xiannian on Friday ventured into a den of American capitalism, halting trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange while he received a rousing ovation.

The 4,000 traders cheered and hurled price cards into the air like confetti when Li and other members of the Chinese delegation entered the glass-enclosed visitors’ gallery above the exchange floor.

“That really has never happened before,” said Leo Melamed, former chairman of the exchange board. “Even Robert Redford and Paul Newman, when they came on our floor, didn’t stop the trading.”

Vice Premier Li Peng toured the floor, wading through the mob of red-jacketed traders shouting prices and waving arms to signal buys and sales of commodities.

Ma Yuzhen, an official in China’s Bureau of Foreign Affairs, said the frantic activity on the exchange floor was fascinating to visitors from a socialist nation.

“I must confess I don’t understand what is going on. This is something we’ve never seen before,” said Ma. “We live in two totally different societies.”