However, the nation's renaissance should also mean a happy life for all, as this is also part of the Chinese dream. China has achieved remarkable economic achievements in recent years, but the living standards of residents can be raised still further. Citizens want to enjoy better education, better incomes, better medical services and more stable social security. The people hope this land can be a better home for them and for their children.

For the Chinese people, all the three above-mentioned pursuits, namely national greatness, the rejuvenation of the nation and happy lives for all are indivisible parts of the one great dream. As a Chinese idiom says: "The river and all its branches have the same level of water." The Chinese people know clearly that a happy life for the individual is only possible with the prosperity of the whole nation.

History teaches the Chinese people an essential lesson: without a strong and mighty nation, the ordinary residents cannot even protect their own lives or fortune. Thus they choose to unite for the common good, which is essential for all.

Today, as China progresses at full speed on all aspects of social construction, as China is regaining a leading role in world governance and the global economy, its people are also benefiting from rising incomes and more convenient social services. All the three parts are within sight, and the people are pursuing them with unprecedented eagerness and fervent enthusiasm.

The lyric of a song best describes the relation of the people and the nation: "The nation is composed of families; each is essential and indivisible." China will continue to push the coordinated development of both the nation and the individual forward, thus realizing the dream of all.

The author is a Beijing-based scholar of international relations.