(Translated from Chinese into English)

The term Chinese Dream has come as China's development arrives at a new historical moment that divides two periods. From this moment on, China will enter into a very different period from the past.

China's reform and opening up strategy has allowed the country to interact with the world arena from a new stance. China's impoverished population has decreased substantially and people's living standard is being constantly improved. China's economic aggregate has increased to over 50 percent of the United States. At present, China is not as wealthy as many developed countries, but it cannot be described as weak anymore. China is able to anticipate and realize a new dream, and the international community shares that expectation.

China has great confidence in its future development, as demonstrated by the phrase "Chinese Dream." The Chinese Dream not only contains the history of the Chinese nation but also reflects China's historic moment. Chinese people were overshadowed by foreign aggression in modern history. Today, China has confidently begun to design a new dream of the future.

China is no longer weak. She is exerting influence on the international system in her own way. The international system will be altered by China as well as other developing countries. The current international system is dominated by developed countries, which account for a minority of the world population. Developing countries—the overwhelming majority of the world population—will inevitably create an international system different from the past.

As I have observed, China has strong confidence in her future and the world's prospects. This is no surprise. China has undergone the largest economic reform in human history. However, it is hard for some westerners to accept this new reality. They ignore history. In a declining country, political elites lose prestige and legitimacy because they cannot fulfill people's expectation. And western political elites have long been faced with this issue.

China's self-confidence also comes from the change of outside environment. In recent years, the center of the global economy has begun to pivot to developing countries. For developing countries, trade relations with China are becoming more and more important. China is the largest trade partner of many developing nations and is the engine for reform. Many developing countries have thus regarded China as an example to learn from and an objective for practicing.

As the interdependence between China and other developing countries rises, China is seeking a new strategic position at a broader scope amid global changes. Although the United States tries its utmost to maintain the current international structure to secure her interests, it cannot stop the establishment of a new international structure in which developing countries will be at the center. China is the party for changing the world. This is the source of her self-confidence.

(The author is a senior research fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Cambridge University.)