Newsweek: The Chinese Dream will have a far-reaching impact

Newsweek: The Chinese Dream will have a far-reaching impact. The US Newsweek published an article originally titled China's Great Dream on December 30: For the long-term Xi...

For the Chinese people who have long been accustomed to official solemn and grand occasions, the relaxed atmosphere displayed by the new leaders of the Communist Party of China is really unexpected. The message from the top leadership of the CCP is clear: hard work will make the country prosperous.

While cracking down on corruption and reducing official pomp and bureaucracy, Xi Jinping also encourages the people to pursue the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the greatest Chinese dream. At least in some key areas, Xi Jinping is poised to change China’s economic and political reform status quo. If sustained, these changes will have far-reaching consequences at home and abroad.

In recent weeks, a large number of local officials have been sacked, indicating that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection really takes the anti-corruption campaign seriously. Beijing is preparing to implement more substantive changes. Xi Jinping also promised to strengthen the rule of law and said: We must treat the people's demands fairly and in accordance with the law, and strive to make the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case.

Xi Jinping’s speech on national rejuvenation and the Chinese dream aroused the attention of the Chinese public. Professor Zhou Xiaozheng of Renmin University of China interpreted this as a defense of implementing reforms, abandoning the (ideological) theory of the Cultural Revolution, working hard and reviving China's glorious history. To the outside world, however, there's a big question: What exactly does the Chinese Dream mean? This statement is highly symbolic but lacking in detail. Hu Xingdou of Beijing Institute of Technology believes that the Chinese Dream is different from the American Dream that focuses on personal achievement. We mainly emphasize national strength and dignity.

Even if China’s new leadership can restore public confidence, it will not be able to eliminate the concerns of the outside world about the meaning of the Chinese Dream. Growing nationalist sentiment among the people has forced Beijing to become increasingly assertive in territorial disputes with Japan and other countries. These frictions coincide with Washington's renewed pivot to Asia. The U.S. presence in the region has aroused nationalist sentiments among the Chinese. Zhao Kejin of Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies said China does not believe it will engage in a new Cold War with the United States, but the United States should explain why it is developing relations with countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. Otherwise, people may think that the United States wants to contain China.