Understanding the Chinese dream

The Chinese dream doesn't collide with the American dream. Chinese people pursue their dreams by improving their own well-being, not by diminishing the well-being of others. This positive pathway is paved not with confrontation, aggression and zero-sum games, but with "cooperation, development, peace and win-win". These are the key positive elements by which human communities and civilizations thrive.

Achieving the Chinese dream takes work. President Xi knows that the Chinese dream consists not only of inspirational goals and powerful motivation, but also of commitment and determination to work hard. That's what psychologists call "grit".

Angela Duckworth at the Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania, a Chinese-American, studies the relationship between grit and achievement. Surveying diverse groups such as college students, West Point cadets, adults, and Spelling Bee competition participants, she found that grit predicts success better than does IQ, especially in challenging settings. In achieving the Chinese dream, positive psychology supports Xi's emphasis on grit.

The Chinese dream is both collective and individual. Collectively, the Chinese dream is described as achieving the "Two 100s":

The material goal of China becoming a "moderately well-off society" by about 2020, around the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China;

The modernization goal of China becoming a fully developed nation by about 2050, around the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

The collective Chinese dream has four parts: strong China (economically, politically, diplomatically, scientifically, militarily); civilized China (equity and fairness, rich culture, high morals); harmonious China (amity among diverse classes and social segments); beautiful China (healthy environment, low pollution, attractive cities, innovative arts).

Individually, the Chinese dream consists of positive goals, positive motivation and positive pathways. It resonates with the fundamental elements and findings of positive psychology, the science that studies positive sides of human functioning, especially well-being. The Chinese dream, with its positive orientation, inspirational goals, and down-to-earth grit, will have a major influence in China.

The author is an international corporate strategist advising multinationals on doing business in China. A longtime counselor to China's leaders, he is the author of How China's Leaders Think and provides commentary on the BBC, CNN, CCTV, CNBC and Bloomberg. Yukun Zhao contributed to the article. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

( China Daily Africa Weekly 07/19/2013 page12)