The interpretation of national dreams

The Chinese dream is still developing but it shows chinese people's confidence

Once an idea catches on, people are fond of searching back in time to find its origin. When they did this with the phrase "Chinese dream", they often credited its invention to Thomas Friedman's New York Times article China needs its own dream, which was published last October.

It is hard to say whether it was simply a coincidence that Friedman's column came out just before China's new president introduced the idea to public discourse. Even if the article did influence Xi Jingping's wording, the Chinese dream that is being discussed and promoted bears little resemblance to what Friedman described in his column. But the US columnist did get one thing right: the Chinese dream is probably going to look very different to the American one.

People are fond of pointing out dichotomies between China and the United States, the two leading world powers: socialism versus capitalism, collectivism versus individualism. There is no shortage of "isms" to pit the two against each other. It is perhaps natural then, for people to look for differences between the two national dreams.

The Chinese dream is still crystallizing. Whatever it turns out to be, it will reflect the Chinese way of life. Those familiar dichotomies between the two countries will inevitably show up.

The American dream has been extraordinarily successful, holding a monopoly on people's imagination. In that regard, it is hardly just American. It is understood and welcomed everywhere. It is America's gift to the world. Will the Chinese dream be China's gift to the world? It is hard to imagine an idea that speaks to more than a billion people which does not contain something appealing to all of humanity.

An alternative interpretation of dreams is a good thing. It promotes better self-examination on both sides to clarify, improve and adapt. It does not have to represent only challenges and rivalry. It can also represent cooperation. Historian Niall Ferguson coined the term "Chimerica" to describe the relationship between the two powers. With its incidental (but fortunate) reference to the mythical animal, the chimera, this imaginative term highlights the possibilities that can come from the fusion of ideas.

A recent development in global higher education reflects this new trend.

About 100 years ago, in the wake of defeat by the Western powers, the Qing Empire (the last Chinese empire) was fined substantial war reparation, of which the US was a beneficiary. The Theodore Roosevelt administration decided to use some of the money to set up a scholarship for Chinese students to study in the US. Fast-forward 100 years and the scholarship program has metamorphosed into one of China's best universities, Tsinghua University, often called the MIT of China.

This year, in an amazing reversal of direction, a scholarship was set up to send distinguished US college graduates to study at Tsinghua. Fortunately this time, the program was not preceded by a war, and the money came from Tsinghua and Stephen Schwartzman, an influential US financier.

When President Roosevelt authorized the first scholarship program, he would not have foreseen this recent development, even though arguably it was his vision a century ago that sowed the seeds for today's joint efforts.

The efforts by the Chinese and the US will come to fruition in 2016, when Tsinghua's Schwartzman College will open its doors to the first batch of globally selected students. It will mark an occasion when the Chinese people will express their confidence in offering valuable ideas to the world, and America's belief in that enterprise.

The author is an independent commentator in Beijing. Contact the writer at fengwriting@gmail.com. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 07/26/2013 page13)