Bo Xilai trial exposes a tangled web of connections

The web of connections linking Gu Kailai to the rich and powerful was laid bare at her husband Bo Xilai's trial yesterday - as was the distrust, doubt, betrayal and hatred tangled within it.

In videotaped testimony played at the Jinan Intermediate People's Court and shared on the court's microblog, a soft-spoken Gu told prosecutors that she had known Xu Ming , a Dalian property tycoon detained for allegedly running a business illegally, for 20 years. She had a "very good impression of him", the court heard.

"I concluded he was very kind and considerate after long-term observation," Gu said. "He does not have the air of a businessman. Of course he was not a very big businessman at the beginning. So we didn't take him as an outsider." She used his contacts - and money - to buy things such as airline tickets.

A family employee, Zhang Xiaojun , testified that Xu was one of the few people able to contact the couple directly.

"He could dine at Bo's home. Sometimes Bo would take a walk with him. Xu was very close to Bo and Gu," he wrote.