China's rise, through the eyes of its young

As Beijing prepares for a leading role at the G20 summit, here's what the country's future thinks.

Kathleen E. McLaughlinApril 1, 2009 06:27Updated May 30, 2010 11:51

Freshman in international relations met this week to talk about China’s rise amid the global financial crisis. Left to right: Zhao Hanyu, Jiang Dongxian, Liu Binbin, Wang Song and Dong Yuting. (Kathleen E. McLaughlin/GlobalPost)

BEIJING — China has stepped up its play for more power in calling the shots in world economic affairs — suggesting a new global currency, demanding market reforms and grasping for more say, generally, in world financial affairs.

But what does this increasing government self-confidence mean to Chinese people? With the country facing rising unemployment and potential social unrest arising from the global crisis, questions abound on whether China can and should assume a leadership role as the G20 economic summit convenes this week in London.

There seems no better place to find out what young Chinese think of their country’s power position than “Beida,” the affectionate shorthand by which Beijingers know Peking University — ranked among the world’s top centers of higher learning and China’s haven of relative ideological freedom.

Mao Zedong worked and studied part-time at Beida, and the university has graduated many of the country’s top writers and thinkers from past and present. Beida students led the May 4 movement for reforms 90 years ago and fronted the failed pro-democracy movement at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Its graduates hold leading positions in the Chinese government and its students are keenly aware of China’s place in the world.

If the handful of freshmen I met this week at Beida are any indication, the university remains a place of robust discussion. The earnest international relations majors who hail from all over China agreed on one thing: China is not ready to lead the world out of the global financial crisis. There may be some nationalists who think their country is already a certified superpower, but most think China should continue to listen, learn and play and advisory role.

Jiang Dongxian is a 19-year-old from the nearby port city of Tianjian who lectures like a professor when speaking of China’s rise in the world order. He believes it’s clear: The global crisis occurred under political and economic systems created and dominated by western countries. Western countries need to lead the way out.