Opinion

Avoid mindset of the nouveau riche

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-15 07:53

With its economy developing rapidly, China is now playing an important role in the world. But we should be careful not to acquire the mentality of the new rich, says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

If you go to any bulletin board system (BBS) you are more than likely to see postings such as China is a rising power, China is developing at the highest speed, China has achieved an economic miracle while the rest of the world is still smarting from the impact of the global financial crisis.

For sure, our country has been doing a good job for the past few years. But we should not have a bloated view of our achievements, because that reflects the mentality of the nouveau riche and will have an evil effect on our behavior and other people's attitudes.

Many Western experts have warned against such a mentality, with some citing the example of the US to prove their point.

With a fast developing economy, China is indeed playing a more important role in many world affairs, and many Westerners need time to adapt to the changed scenario. Besides, Chinese officials are relatively more powerful than their Western counterparts.

But if they treat foreigners in the same way as they treat their own people, they could easily create trouble and misunderstanding. These two factors could lead to China falling prey to the mentality of the nouveau riche. So even if we are sure such a thing will not happen we should take precaution.

We must remember we are still a developing country. No one can deny China's role in the world as a true power. But we still need to change our attitude so that the world better acknowledges our sense of responsibility.