Essence of the Chinese Dream

The Chinese Dream, as President Xi Jinping stressed in a written interview with the Wall Street Journal ahead of his first visit to the United States, does have a lot in common with the American Dream in terms of the individual pursuit of peace, development, and innovation. It is no doubt that people from both nations want to live a better life.

But likening one to the other in the national level, would be ill-considered even dangerous, because they are essentially different. Although known for entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mindset, the American Dream has also shown its dark side during the past decades. Bypassing the United Nations and waging more than one regional wars, Washington has sought to impose its own will on other countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, in the hope that the so-called Western democracy would bear fruit.

In contrast, being a staunch defender of global peace and stability, Beijing adopts a very different approach in realizing its dream. China's participation in 600 new projects that aim to help developing countries on trade, poverty reduction, as Xi announced at the UN summits, is a proper example.

As a means of "achieving national prosperity, rejuvenation and happiness for the Chinese people", the Chinese Dream should play a big role in fulfilling the "World Dream", which must not be built on wars, clashes, and hegemony. Of course, it calls for positive interactions between China and other countries, the US included, to safeguard and optimize the global order.

Gao Zhikai is director of China National Association of International Studies.

Peaceful development

Safeguarding the world peace and opening its door to other nations still top China's pursuit of peaceful development. As amain contributor, participator, and beneficiary of the post-World War II order, China will neither seek hegemony nor pose a threat to the regional security, despite its notable rise in recent years.

Founded on the principles of UN Charter, the postwar world order is far from flawless and has received a number of complaints from developing economies, which are often marginalized by the traditional advanced ones in the West. The world body, too, should have played a more significant and efficient role in defusing regional tensions and guiding the development of some poverty-stricken areas.

In effect, what Beijing aims to promote is a benign multi-polarization in the system, which can allow the less developed nations to have a bigger say in global and regional affairs. Challenging Washington's global leadership and the current global order is never an option. The controllable strategic competition between the two nations is not a zero-sum game either.

China's concrete contributions to the betterment of the global order, such as the launch of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, speak louder volumes than any pointless argument. It has agreed to increase its financial contributions to the World Bank and other global financial institutions, after initiating 600 new projects ranging from poverty-reduction to climate change. Such efforts epitomize the country's commitment to peaceful development.

Jia Xiudong is a senior research fellow from the China Institute of International Studies.

More interactions needed

For many US citizens, China is still a mysterious oriental country which sells a lot of cheap products to their country. In general, they hold little grudge against the country except for its low-quality exports flooding their supermarkets. At bottom, it is just the few China watchers, journalists, and politicians who see China as a grave threat to the US.

Quite interestingly, Chinese people, especially the younger generations, knows a lot about what is going on in the US, not the other way around. It thus requires them to make more efficient self-introductions to their US peers. Grassroots or unofficial exchanges can be a feasible solution.

Before Xi concluded his maiden state visit to the US, both sides agreed to support the holding of the China-US Young Maker Competition annually, as well as the collaboration between the think-tanks in Chinese and US universities, marking a promising start.

Teenagers, in particular, should pursue a knowledge-driven approach in a bid to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the other country. On the other hand, think tank scholars also need to keep an open mind to their foreign counterparts and engage in more in-depth, constructive discussions, regardless of their nationalities and which government they represent.

Likewise, the "state-province collaboration" between Chinese provinces and US states, is expected to become another new break-through in the bilateral relationship, because it involves little ideological differences and focus on economic cooperation and common interests.

Zhao Kejin is an associate professor of international relations at Tsinghua University.