When LKY calls another leader 'great', we should sit up and see who he is. Deng was a truly exceptional leader. China is very fortunate he was there when it needed him.
I believe the speech is part of the Citibank Legacies of Leadership series, where Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew spoke in 2005 (specifically on 29 March 2005 in Hong Kong, also in Jakarta in 2007). It was 20 years ago. And what he shared then (at 39:50) on China's goals for the future, is what we are seeing now. Imagine the leverage that Singapore companies have with such understanding - or anyone who who hears the advice of LKY 20 years ago.