Commentary: I have a dream, a ‘Chinese dream’

Editor's note: The author, Zhenyu Li, is a contributing columnist for some of the world's premier publications and editor-in-chief of the business channel at the People's Daily Online, a publication of China's Communist Party.

BEIJING, China — Life is filled with dreams, dreams that give our life meaning and inspire us to pursue a better future. A Life without dreams is like a garden without flowers.

Today, more people in China than ever before are trying to live their dreams, as Chinese President Xi Jinping took the helm with a fresh catchphrase the Chinese Dream. The realization of a dream for more than 1.3 billion people will go down in history as one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind. Inspired by the Chinese Dream, more and more Chinese nationals have begun to chase their own dreams.

I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Chinese Dream, a dream of an equal, peaceful and more prosperous world, and a dream of the renewal of a great civilization.

I have a dream that one day this world will evolve into a more civilized oasis where all men no matter they are Asians, Caucasians, or black people are created equal.

I have a dream that one day when Chinese people or immigrants walk on the street of the West, they will not be viewed as racial inferiors.

I have a dream that one day those heavy industries that are detrimental to the environment will not continue to be transferred to China from the Western developed countries, and all people in China will be able to breathe the same air as clean and fresh as that in the developed world.

I have a dream that one day the popularly widespread phrase, "Made in China" will not be perceived as cheap and low-end, and the perennial landscape that Western developed countries get the credit while the Chinese workers do the dirty works in manufacturing will change.

I have a dream today that my old grandmother will live to see that day when senior citizens in emerging countries could have access to the same amount of medical resources and receive the same level of medical care as adequate and advanced as those in the Western developed world.

I have a dream that one day every piece of land that inherently belongs to China shall return to the embrace of its motherland.

I have a dream that the Chinese people will one day fully recover from the trauma of the "century of national humiliation" when China was bullied at the hands of Western and Japanese invaders, and the "Middle Kingdom" will one day restore its former glory!

Not all people will have their dreams come true. But I hope my dream will, because it is a dream deeply rooted in the Chinese Dream; because in a globalized world, by rejuvenating China, the Chinese Dream benefits the entire globe.

In the past 30 plus years, China made it. The world's largest and most dynamic developing economy shared the "dividend" of its significant growth with the rest of the world. In the next decade, the world will witness the same.

By working together and supporting each other, the Chinese Dream and the dream of the world will harmonize, creating a beautiful symphony of prosperity.

By enhancing unity and mutual trust, China and the rest of the world shall come together and make the world dream of enduring peace and common prosperity come true.

This is our hope, and this is the dream that I live for.

Life is filled with dreams, dreams that give our life meaning and inspire us to fly to a brighter sky.

So let our wings of hope flap; let our dreams soar. It's high time for action. We have work to do.

The author is an internationally recognized independent commentator and a contributing columnist for some of the world's premier publications.