China Dream Practicum

The first time I remember being in China in 2011, I was at Beijing Foreign Studies University studying the Chinese  language. Seven years later, and I got to return to China and learn about China as a country and the China Dream. Having the opportunity to discuss this complex topic from a range of people, government officials, professors, NGOs, and more was something that seven years ago I never would have thought was possible. Over the two weeks of the China Dream Practicum there were many different answers to different variations of the question “What does the China Dream mean to you?” For some the China Dream is seen as only a government tool, however there are also those who see it as the same thing as the American Dream, and those who look at it as an individual dream, and a dream of development. Listening to my classmates and professors asking about their areas of interest while asking my own questions about Chinese domestic policies provided the framework where we could look at different policies and research through the broad lens of the China Dream while deepening our own understanding of the complex situation that is development in China. The combination of topics, cities, and speakers has provoked even more questions for me. Some that were touched on, such as how to balance research and political sensitivity in China and some of the steps and cautions that could or need to be taken. Additionally, there was confirmation concerning some of my preparatory research where I found out about how the people with rural household registration don’t necessarily want an urban registration, even though the benefits that are connected to the urban registration may be ones that those with the rural household registration do want.

Getting to learn about the current work and research that NGOs, incubators, banks, government, business, and Universities in China are doing concerning development and innovation also opened up ideas for me professionally. I had thought that China was not going to be a place that I wanted to work but talking to the students who are working on innovative business, getting the chance to attend a press conference, and getting to talk to the China Development Brief, opened my eyes to many more possibilities that I had either dismissed or been unaware of. This has got me excited for the twists and turns in the future.

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