President XI’s Chinese dream

Qin Shenyong and Langton Makuwerere Dube

In his book ‘Conversations on the Edge of the Apocalypse’, David Jay Brown observed that “the future has never looked brighter or more bleak.

Never before in human history has there been so much cause for both hope and alarm. We are living in a world of increasing uncertainty…”

On the one hand, the contemporary world continues to reveal multiple frontiers of conflict ranging from climate change, the scourge of pandemics, resource conflicts, widening affluence gap within and among nations, and the proliferation of terrorism and violent extremism.

On the other hand, rapid advances in technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and quantum data and nanotechnology offers unlimited opportunities in health, communication and governance among many others.

While these contrasting realities are a source of ambivalence and ambiguity, the construction of a shared future for mankind is the Chinese panacea to these obtaining challenges. Indeed, the world has awakened from its slumber and serious questions about the future of global development, multilateralism and global security are being proposed. Through the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative, President Xi Jinping’s Chinese Dream presents a conducive springboard from whence inclusive development across the globe based on international consensus and strong synergy can be realised. At the core of the Chinese Dream, lies the prospect to create a global community of shared prosperity, fostering co-operation, mutual understanding, and development.

This colossal grand vision aims to reshape the fundamental ethos of international relations and to promote a more inclusive and interconnected world.

Since first proposing this concept to the world in 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping has explained its profound characteristics, plans, and measures in depth on a series of major occasions. In his report at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi emphasised that the Chinese Dream does not follow the old path of war, colonisation and plunder.

Rather, it adheres to the path of peaceful development, mutual coexistence and tolerance anchored on strength in diversity.

The safeguarding of world peace, development and co-operation is a sacred creed of the Chinese Dream.

Taking this as a guide, General Secretary Xi delivered a keynote speech at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva in January 2017 entitled “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind Together” wherein he articulated the key guidelines and plan of action underpinning the Chinese Dream.

In his speech, he gave the Chinese perspective on the most profound question of our times; What is wrong with the world and what should we do?

This Chinese Dream should be understood within the realm of the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation.

Two centuries ago, the great French General Napoleon Bonaparte quipped that “let China sleep, when she awakes, she will shake the world”.

Indeed, and to be blunt, this Chinese Dream fulfils the core theses of acclaimed diplomat and academic Kishore Mahbubani’s book ‘The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East wherein he articulates the reality and inevitability of an Asian reawakening championed by Chinese civilisation.

The idea of a global community of shared futures is based on mutual collaboration and common development. President Xi strongly believes that in the era of globalisation, nations should work in unison to address global challenges to human progress.

These challenges include but are not limited to, climate change, rising inequality within and among nations, the proliferation of wars resulting in the implosion and or explosion of states, and terrorism and violent extremism among others.

Therefore, to address these, President Xi believes that the construction of partnerships based on mutual benefit and win-win co-operation could benefit humanity. For example, the Global Security Initiative proposed at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Summit Conference 2022 perched security as a prerequisite for development.

The clarion call therefore, advocated for the creation of a common and comprehensive sustainable security architecture anchored on dialogue instead of confrontation and war mongering, and one that is non-aligned.

Indeed, the Chinese Dream is much alive to the redefinition of the concept of security from a predominantly vertical one concerned with state security to a broader and horizontal concept that encompasses various dimensions of human security.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one piece of this grand vision.

Dubbed the ‘Project of the Century’ or ‘Inclusive Circle of Friends’ to the world, the BRI is a colossal infrastructure project that seeks to promote connectivity and economic integration spanning across Asia, Europe, and Africa and beyond.

The BRI seeks to link countries through a network of roads, railways, ports and various infrastructure projects. It is envisioned that these projects will buttress and facilitate trade, investment and cultural exchanges among different people.

Launched in 2013, the BRI aims to inherit and reignite the spirit of the ancient Silk Road creating an open platform of cooperation.

In his remarks at the Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum on the May 14, 2018, General Secretary Xi urged all parties to build the Belt and Road into a road of peace, prosperity, openness, innovation and enlightenment for mutual learning and shared benefits.

To be read in tandem with the Global Development Initiative proposed in 2021 which recognises that development is the common pursuit of humanity; the BRI envisions a scenario in which all countries should insist on sharing opportunities and creating a better future placing development at the centre of the international agenda.

President Xi’s Chinese Dream also emphasises the cardinal role of multilateralism and the importance of a fair and just global governance regime.

In sync with the rest of the global South, China is vigorously advocating for the reformation of international institutions like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation among many others whose modus operandi is now out of touch with global dynamics and whose Eurocentric genes severely undercuts their relevance.

Indeed, it is China’s strongest conviction that all countries regardless of their size and or level of development should have an equal voice in global affairs.

The belief that nations should work hand in glove to address common challenges and harness shared opportunities for the betterment of humanity should be welcomed by all and sundry.

President Xi envisions a world where countries transcend differences in ideology, culture and development levels through the construction of bridges based on sincere understanding and cooperation.

The endgame is the creation of a harmonious and humane global community.

Addressing the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference on the April 10, 2018, General Secretary Xi remarked that, “the Chinese people will continue to walk with the world, make greater contributions to mankind, and unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development. We will firmly support multilateralism, actively participate in promoting the reform of the global governance system, build a new type of international relations, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind”.

Be that as it may, and despite President Xi’s honourable intentions, the Chinese Dream has been subjected to multiple unfounded attacks ranging from the bizarre to the disconcerting.

As expected, neoliberal bromides and market catechists continue to glibly attack, not only the persona of President Xi but also the spirit and content of the Chinese Dream through perverted and politicised human rights discourse.

Allegations abound that China is abetting authoritarian rule and that her rise will exacerbate geopolitical competition and ultimately a realignment of global power balance under a Thucydidean complex.

Firstly, to address the alleged human rights issues, it should be emphasised that Asian societies often prioritise stability and harmony over individual rights and freedoms.

However, this does not mean that Asians do not value these principles but rather they interpret them in the context of broader social cohesion.

Secondly, contrary to the allegations of the inevitability of war, China’s foreign policy is non-egalitarian, seeks social and political order, its power is not hinged on the gun but rather on soft power diplomacy based on cultural osmosis not missionary zeal that characterises western civilisation.

President Xi’s Chinese Dream has also been relentlessly attacked because it is based on the sacrosanct values of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

This policy of non-interference has been attacked by western powers who chide China for not calling to order the ‘presumed’ rogue states within Africa and Latin America. Western civilisation is premised on the belief that as other societies evolve, they are destined to be intellectual and moral clones of the West and that no other civilisation other than their own is worth of recognition.

Deeply rooted in their presumed normative exceptionalism and superiority, this belief in interference is at the core of western foreign policy, whereby their ‘white man’s burden’ gives them unbridled divine right to condescend on other peoples.

As a consequence, their interference has created centrifugal forces of exceptional chaos in the South under the guise of democracy and human rights which further reinforces and feeds into their aura of superiority and relevance.

However, on the contrary, President Xi’s Chinese Dream promotes the respect for the diversity and sovereignty of different peoples to pursue development in their peculiar and diverse circumstances. After all, as Deng Xiaoping noted ‘black or white, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat’.

It is important to emphasise that this vile anti-Chinese charade goes against everything ‘Panda’ as treacherous and deceitful. The narratives are couched through morality politics which directly or indirectly depicts China as the giant.

‘Other’, a rapacious and exploitative dragon devoid of good governance. Delivered in crudely hectoring tendencies, these crass aspersions are a sign that the West remains intractably moored in East-West politics mimicking a kind of Cold War mentality.

In reality China’s unprecedented rise, lifting millions out of poverty has perched it as a role model and de-facto patron to the global South reeling from centre-periphery global power dynamics and in search of alternative development paths.

Indeed, the Chinese Dream in general and the Chinese model in particular are latent, they are not dogma, straight jacket or one size fits all prescriptions.

In essence, they allow African governments to reinterpret them within their local contexts, preferences and initiatives.

Despite these positives, the Belt and Road Initiative, has been attacked as debt trap diplomacy.

To debunk this myth, Beijing has never forced or cajoled any African government, let alone the Zimbabwean Government for example, to accept any deal or project.

China only invests in projects with the consent of African governments.

Most importantly, the Belt and Road Initiative’s main emphasis is on projects that have a multiplier effect to transform societies and economies, the kind of projects that unleash government efforts.

Projects like the Grand Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia, Kenya’s 579 kilometers Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) that connects the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi are some of the classic examples.

In Zimbabwe, the expansion of the Kariba South Power Station, the refurbishment of Hwange Thermal Power Station, the construction of the Manhize Mvuma Steel Plant and other associated investments in mining and agriculture are some of the notable developments.

For countries like Zimbabwe reeling under economic sanctions with infrastructure that needs heavy investment, the BRI is a welcome investment vehicle.

It is trite that there can be no economic development without the support of a robust infrastructure in areas like transport and energy.

Therefore, investments under President Xi’s Chinese Dream should be lauded.

It is crucial to emphasise that the Chinese Dream is simply asserting that given the tides and waves in civilisations and human progress, no single civilization is an intellectual island. Indeed, through the Global Civilisation Initiative proposed in 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping advocated for the respect and tolerance of the diversity of world civilisations, strengthening cultural exchanges and co-operation which enhances mutual learning and people to people bonds in a world that identifies itself through ‘cultural Othering’ and ‘Invisibility’ with the so called alpha civilisations in the centre cogitating less on the richness and weight of those who are forced to perpetually tinker in the periphery.

In Kiswahili proverb, President Xi and by extension the Chinese Dream are declaring to the world that “tumekela chumvi nyingi” (meaning they have eaten a lot of salt) that their civilisation has a rich history that allows them to tell past tales, to reflect and also proffer solutions to contemporary challenges currently affecting the world.

It is gospel truth that sub-Saharan Africa continues to suffer from insurmountable challenges of not only of bricks and mortar but also an acute dearth in bureaucratic infrastructural capacity to penetrate society and deliver political goods.

In reality, most governments are strong at the centre and weak in the periphery making them feeble in service delivery. Thus, President Xi’s the Chinese Dream has seen remarkable infrastructure developments and people to people cultural exchanges.

For example, Chinese Government Scholarships, exchange programmes, training seminars and workshops have improved African governments’ bureaucratic capabilities in public administration, defence and security, education management among other critical areas.

Much to the chagrin of naysayers and contrary to doomsday analysis of an inevitable ‘bubble burst’, the Chinese Dream continues to show remarkable resilience providing alternative development paths for the global south to emulate.

To sum it up, President Xi’s Chinese Dream has become one of the most profound projects of the 21st century.

This piece is not a polemic against the West but an affirmation of the realities that currently obtains in this contemporary world.

To borrow from Thucydides, we ‘have written this peace not as an essay to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession of all time’ and as a strong declaration and belief in the relevance of the Chinese Dream and the creation of a community of shared future and prosperity. The re-emergence of Asia should not be feared, it is not the end of the West or a zero-sum game rather it presents a new era of collaboration and partnership.

In his much acclaimed book, The Governance of China, General Secretary Xi noted that, ‘a single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden’ therefore it is only through co-operation, mutual learning, and shared benefits that human progress can be achieved.

After all the ocean is vast and is fed by hundreds of rivers, therefore, we should respect the right of every country to independently chose its social system and development path, ease distrust and misgivings and turn the diversity of the world and differences among countries into dynamism and momentum.

Qin Shengyong is the Visiting Scholar at the University of Shanghai International Studies and Full Professor of Sun Yat Sen University School of International Studies in Guangzhou.

Dr Langton Makuwerere Dube is a Lecturer and Programme Coordinator in the Department of Peace and Security at the Zimbabwe National Defence University