Somebody might want to tell this over eager defender to chill out and let the Premier of the People’s Republic of China get his lay-up off.

Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, is known by the Chinese public as a man of the people.  Since his rise to number three in the Politburo Standing Committee in 2003, Wen has endeared himself to Chinese by showing a human side not often seen from China’s many emotionless, poker-faced politicians.

In the days after the horrific Sichuan earthquake in 2008, Wen endeared himself to the masses by boarding a government plane a mere two hours after news of the disaster had hit Beijing.  Upon arrival, he wept openly in front of reporters, earning him a legion of supporters who now affectionately call the 68 year-old “Grandpa Wen.”

In August 2010, in the aftermath of devastating mudslides in Gansu, Wen displayed more care for his people when he  flew out to mudslide-stricken Gansu, yelling out encouragement to trapped civilians and ordering rescue teams to “spare no effort to save lives.”

And now, just in time for the NBA Finals, which will be watched by millions upon millions of basketball-crazed Chinese, Wen is further solidifying his title as the people’s champ by taking to the blacktop to partake in one of the country’s favorite sport, basketball.

Without further ado:

The game, which went down last Tuesday at the at the Shibalidian elementary school Beijing’s Chaoyang District, has been all over the news this week, with the above picture showing up on the front page of several national newspapers. Damn right China likes itself some basketball.

Damien Ma over at The Atlantic has some keen insight on the 2:57 clip that’s worth reading, including a who’s who of smiley-faced clapping politicians who came to cheer Wen on.  Though no box score exists (that we know of), it’s clear that Wen totally dominated the competition.  Playing on kiddie-sized hoops, the lefty used a variety of unorthodox forays into the lane to convert time and time again on his signature scoop lay-up finish.  Wen also shows good anticipation and active hands in the passing lanes, as evidenced by his deflection at the 2:02 mark. And as we see at the 1:55, Grandpa has a high motor on the offensive glass, beasting away opponents to turn his teammates’ misses into easy put-backs.  In all, Wen made six baskets according to the news report.

Of course, any footage of a basketball playing politician — a lefty politican, in fact — brings to mind arguably the world’s most famous ball-playing politician of all time, Barack Obama, the President of the United States.  As the U.S. and China have sparred in the past over human rights, the appreciation of the yuan and the environment, are we in for another showdown between Washington and Beijing… on the basketball court?

It may not be so far fetched.  As Ma predicts, “not only is China cleaning our clock on high-speed rail, its leaders are soon to dominate the courts, dunking over Obama like [Taj] Gibson over [Dwyane] Wade in the Eastern Conference Finals.”  Clearly, something is going on here.  After taking over as the world’s manufacturing superpower, China may have her sights set on taking over yet another industry that would hit hard at the heart of American livelihood, the American-invented sport of basketball.

No, seriously.  A look at this picture, which reveals Wen practicing his go-to lefty lay-up in Beijing’s Wukesong Arena during the 2008 Olympics, suggests that China’s top officials view their Premier’s development as a core strategic interest internationally.  Giving him open access to the best arena in the country with a cheering section to boot, China appears to be dead set on a one-on-one showdown against the Leader of the Free World.  Knowing that Wen will be at a height disadvantage against the 6’1 Obama, Wen’s coaches have made it a point to develop his ball-handling, quickness, and finishes around the rim.  Obama, who showed his three-point range out on the perimeter in his nationally televised game of POTUS against Clark Kellogg during the NCAA Final Four in 2010, will be able to get his shot off easily against his short armed opponent.  But, as most shooters tend to neglect the defensive end, Wen could give the taller, slower Obama a lot of problems in a one-on-one game if he’s able to break down his Western counterpart off the dribble.

Don’t let that basketball get too dusty, Barack.

If/when this goes down, expect heated pre-game bilateral negotiations over the rules, most specifically, how the score will be kept.  Represented by the sharp shooting Obama, the U.S. will likely push hard for three-pointers counting as two points in the one-on-one battle.  China on the other hand, will give a long speech on the importance of maintaining ”harmonious scoring systems,” with all baskets counting as one point.

What becomes of all of this speculation is anybody’s guess, but this potential showdown is definitely worth keeping an eye out in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, as it could become a key issue for American voters who have grown suspect of China’s global intentions.

Here’s some more pictures of Wen’s memorable performance from a few days ago, accented with original captions for your viewing pleasure:

Grandpa Wen, working on pounding that left handed dribble into the ground.

When you’ve got handle like Wen, you don’t even need an armbar for your protect dribble.

For your information, no, Wen does not to be subjected into wearing questionable red bow-ties during gym class.  He does, however, have to participate in mandatory warm-up laps before playing.