--Alexander V. LOMANOV, Professor, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Idea of the Chinese Dream brings a new dimension into China's interactions with the world. As China gets more and more integrated into the global community, the Chinese Dream becomes closely intertwined with dreams of other nations. Differentiation of levels and directions of their comparisons with the Chinese Dream could help to clarify its meaning in cross-cultural perspective.

At the global level the Chinese Dream is related to the "World Dream" that is synonymous to common aspirations of the whole mankind like peace, prosperity, human happiness and so on. China's recent efforts to formulate and systematize basic views of values helped to establish the ground for dialogue between the Chinese Dream and the "World Dream". Chinese mainstream vision of the "core values" embraces important universal components such as "freedom", "equality" and "democracy". We should also underline that the top position in the Chinese view of values belongs to wealth and strength, and this directly points to the first of three components of the Chinese Dream (wealth and strength of the state, national revival, happiness of the people). In the context of fundamental idea of China's adherence to global peace and development these common aspects in values create positive atmosphere for the introduction of the Chinese Dream to the world.

The dialogue of the Chinese Dream and dreams of other nations should embrace particular cross-cultural comparative perspectives; these are more detailed and substantial than relations to the "World Dream" that represents a higher level of generalization and abstraction.

Many Chinese experts and academics are comparing the Chinese Dream with the American Dream. Economic forecasts suggest that China has good chances to surpass the US by the size of the GDP in the early 2020s, and this determination to become "Number One" in global economy inspires Chinese intellectuals to evaluate goals, ideals and values of two nations. Attempts to assess the Chinese Dream at backstage of the American Dream generated a tide of disputes on relations between collectivism and individualism.

The European Dream receives less attention in China, one can explain it by disappointment in EU's poor economic performance during the global crisis. Nevertheless this theme should not be discarded, it is important for academic reflections on the Chinese Dream. The European Dream is undoubtedly the Western one, but it is not American. It has numerous similarities with the Chinese Dream that are not present in the China-US comparisons of national dreams. The European Dream accents the soft power and influence of values and culture; it attempts to promote peace among the European nations after learning bitter lessons from two devastating wars of the 20th century. Ten years ago – before the crisis - Jeremy Rifkin observed that the new European Dream "focuses more on sustainable development, quality of life, and interdependence". Although not all these dreams were fulfilled in Europe, this description is not that distant from the goals of contemporary China.

Dreams of the new emerging industrial nations, mostly associated with the BRICS, constitute another path for comparisons and dialogue.

For example, despite the fact that there is no direct equivalent in form of the "Russian Dream" in political narrative in Russia, the notion of the "New National Idea" outlined by President Vladimir Putin in September 2013 has deep and meaningful connotations with the Chinese Dream. After two decades of searches for the most appropriate model of development of post-Soviet Russia it has become evident "that it is impossible to move forward without spiritual, cultural and national self-determination"; attempts at mechanical copying of other countries' experience are doomed to fail and self-humiliating loss of respect to nation's own history is deeply counterproductive. In other words, there could be no real Dream and social progress without people being confident in their own culture and proud of own history.

The Latin American Dream of political and economic independence with domestic social justice also serves as an important point of reference for the Chinese Dream. The Latin American Dream is often colored with revolutionary rhetoric and it tends to throw an open challenge to the Western hegemony, while the Chinese Dream suggests an inclusive and peaceful stance on the global scene. At the same time the Chinese idea of national revival brings to mind the memories of the 19th century history when foreign powers attempted to bring China into submission by military force, in this aspect the Chinese Dream carries some aspects of anti-colonial discourse.

Last but not least important cross-cultural direction points to the dreams of developing nation. There is a trend to compare the Chinese Dream with the African Dream of economic growth and alleviation of poverty. This Dream is very similar to the Chinese Dream of the mid-20th century, and now China has significant resources to help Africa to fulfill this Dream. Besides the development of win-win cooperation, this dialogue of dreams could serve as a source of inspiration for underdeveloped nations around the globe to follow China's example and to search for the most efficient path of economic growth instead of copying foreign recipes.

During his visit to the US in June, 2013 Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the Chinese Dream "communicates with beautiful dreams of each nation of the world, including the American Dream". The Chinese Dream will not attempt to snub the dreams of others. On the contrary, it will flourish due to China's ability to embrace the achievements of foreign cultures. So there is an ample space for the Dialogue of Dreams.

Historical comparisons are also important, because the Chinese Dream of the modern times was impacted by two great foreign dreams – the Soviet Dream and the American Dream. Though both Dreams faded in their homelands, they are still present in the debates of Chinese intellectuals as key points of reference that help to define and clarify unique features of the Chinese Dream.

When we look into the future of the Chinese Dream, we are tempted to look beyond the timeline of "two hundred-year goals" that extend into the middle of this century. On the other side, the Chinese Dream goes back deep into the history and cultural tradition of China. Communications between the Chinese Dream and dreams of different nations will require a significant effort in promotion of cross-cultural contacts.

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