Fang Ning, Director of the Institute of Political Science at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the Chinese dream and the American dream are of the same nature, both describing the relationship between individuals and society.

"During the process of industrialization, every country encounters many problems, including social mobility, sudden increase of wealth and a change of identity. So it's natural for the government to advocate a common value to inspire individuals to fight for their own ideals and pursuits. Hence, the improvement and progress of the nation will be realized. The dream of every country is like this, including the Chinese dream," Fang told Beijing Review.

"The most important aspect of the Chinese dream is individual pursuit of wealth and excellence. China's rapid growth during the past several decades is achieved because of the joint efforts of all individuals holding up to the same ideal—the Chinese dream."

Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation in the United States, said in order to avoid the Chinese dream amounting to just empty words, China should not just talk about the dream in general terms, but it needs to explain the detailed theory of the concept. Kuhn is the author of How China's Leaders Think and wrote a biography on former Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Kuhn suggested the Chinese dream should be specified into five categories—the collective national dream of the Chinese nation; personal and individual dreams; the historical Chinese dream (how the Chinese dream has changed over history); the global Chinese dream (how the Chinese dream will affect other countries); and the antithetical Chinese dream (the conflicting areas when realizing the dream).

"As China grows, there will be more importing of goods and more job creation. So Chinese prosperity is bound to lead to global prosperity," Kuhn said. "However, some worry that the more China has achieved its dream, the more China will impose its dream on other nations."

Although Chinese leaders have consistently said that China will never seek hegemony no matter how strong China becomes, some people worry, according to Kuhn.

Kuhn said the solution to this issue is to let them know international troubles can only work against the realization of the Chinese dream. "Today's world is so globalized that China can't achieve its dream domestically without the international community appreciating it."

Martin Jacques, a visiting senior fellow with the London School of Economics and Political Science, said China needs to make big changes in its organizational structure, administrative functions and personnel.

Jacques, however, does not expect China to copy the Western-style system. "The Chinese state and the government have never been the same as Western countries, but I expect reform in information publicity, representation and responsibility for its citizens."

"The Chinese dream is not confined to China. It is also about China's role in the transformation of developing nations and, in the process, the transformation of the world," he said.

Rejuvenating China, the Chinese dream will benefit the world with experiences for other regions and countries to follow and help establish win-win relationships among world players, he said.

The Chinese dream will change the global landscape, which was shaped by Western countries over the past two centuries during industrialization, said Jacques.

Its realization will come along with the formation of a new global landscape, which will be established through international rules and experiences of both developed and emerging countries, he said.

Zhou Mingwei, President of China International Publishing Group, said studying the Chinese dream provides an opportunity to learn about the country and discussions of it will be a topic in communication between China and other countries.

"Different people have different understandings of the concept of the Chinese dream. Despite those differences, China will never change its dialogue with the world, never change its resolution in realizing its dreams and will never change its policies toward peace, harmony, cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships," Zhou said when addressing a keynote speech at the closure ceremony of the two-day seminar.

Realizing the dream

Kenneth Lieberthal

Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior researcher at the Brookings Institution, said the decisions made at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in November, covers six aspects when it comes to the realization of the Chinese dream—narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas; resolving deteriorating environmental problems; changing China's development model to boost consumption and develop an innovative and efficient economy; strengthening the government's abilities in providing necessary social services to meet challenges like the aging population; reducing government intervention in the market; and maintaining domestic social stability.

Zhang Xiaoshan, a professor with the Rural Development Institute at CASS, said in order to comprehensively deepen reform and realize the Chinese dream, China should have a more detailed top-level design and unleash potential innovations by individuals.

"When it comes to top-level design, it should involve a complete system, including reform plans, implementation requirements and punishment for those who refuse to implement reform plans," Zhang said on the sidelines of the seminar. "The driving forces of deepening reform also come from individuals who have innovative spirit. Their potential must be unleashed."

For Rona, chief representative of the Shanghai Office of Turkish Garanti Bank, no individual or country can ever stop dreaming while the contents of the dream can change alongside time and environment.

"The Chinese dream is a continuous process. For instance, changes between what China was 30 years ago and what China is now would be part of the dream. The realization of the Chinese dream can be divided into many phases. The Chinese dream shall never stop and it shall serve as momentum for future development."

"As for individuals, it's the same. Even at 80 or 90 years old, you can still have dreams," Rona told Beijing Review. "My current dreams, for instance, include becoming a member of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. I also hope China's financial markets can be further opened up to foreign capital and foreign banks."

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