Potential of the Chinese Dream

Survey shows by integrating national and personal aspirations it has been embraced as a shared mission driving change

Early in November 2012, Chinese leader Xi Jinping articulated a vision for the nation's future that he called the Chinese Dream. The Chinese Dream integrates national and personal aspirations, with the twin goals of reclaiming national pride and achieving personal well-being. It requires sustained economic growth, expanded equality and an infusion of cultural values to balance materialism.

Dreams are powerful. In advancing the Chinese Dream the government is uniting people around a shared mission and driving change, especially people in lower-tier cities and rural areas, as they experience increased affluence and opportunity.

Externally, the Chinese Dream can improve the image of China as a fast-growing nation striving to improve the welfare of its people and secure its place as a respected leader of the international community. In addition, the Chinese Dream can help elevate the overseas perception of Brand China, the collective reputation of products and services that originate in China.

Like many developments in modern China, awareness of the Chinese Dream happened with great speed.

Chinese social media is full of postings about the Chinese Dream, in which people express their demand for free education, better air quality and safe food. The government has raised awareness of its view of the Chinese Dream with a poster campaign and other publicity.

When the Chinese people say they support the Chinese Dream, they mean it. They take national pride seriously. According to WPP research from The Futures Company, 67 percent of Chinese say showing national pride is very or extremely important. Only 60 percent of Americans and 48 percent of Britons agree showing national pride is important.

When we asked Chinese what country they feel is most ideal today, they answered the United States. When we asked them what country would be ideal in 10 years, they said China. This optimism may be driven by a phenomenon articulated by The Futures Company, which suggests that personal satisfaction is determined less by one's current status and more by the prospects of improvement in the future. In its Global Monitor 2013, a consumer intelligence tool, The Futures Company found that 58 percent of Chinese say they are very or extremely satisfied with their lives, compared with 48 percent of Americans and only 33 percent of Britons.

At the same time, Chinese realize that their lives have room for improvement, with an overwhelming 79 percent agreeing that they'd be happier with more possessions. Only 16 percent of Britons and 14 percent of Americans say they need more stuff. Based on Global Monitor research, The Futures Company concludes that once people worldwide satisfy their basic material needs, adding more possessions doesn't usually increase happiness. Chinese aren't there yet. But they are determined to reach this threshold. For the past 30 years Chinese have been manufacturing and exporting products to meet the materialistic aspirations of consumers in the West. Chinese are now ready to consume what they produce, to realize the materialistic aspect of the Chinese Dream. The only question is whether this acquisition of material goods will unfold as Western-style conspicuous consumption in China or in a more considered way, informed by a Chinese cultural appreciation for keeping life in balance.