China's global discourse: Chinese dream

"China Dream (Chinese: 中国梦, Zhōngguó Mèng)" is a future strategy presented by Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which the Chinese people live in prosperity, become a strong, rich and great state again, in line with the narrative of the "Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation". It also represents China's effort to erase the traces of the "Century of Humiliation" and regain its lost reputation and power. This discourse, which was first expressed by Xi after the 18th National Congress of the Comunist Party of China (CCP) in November 2012, was seen as Xi's most important discourse. In the study, Xi's "China Dream" discourse is discussed in all its dimensions. In this regard, in addition to the issues that support and complement the discourse, there are also factors that reduce its impact and appear as obstacles to be overcome. In the first chapter, in order to understand the "China Dream", its historical origin, how it is interpreted in the literature, and its relationship with the century of national humiliation are examined. Additionally, the similar and different aspects of the discourse with the "American Dream", to which it is often compared, are shown. In order to make the discourse more understandable, the role of Xi behind the dream discourse was examined. In the second part, one of the China's soft power like Belt and Road Initiative and other issues such as Community of Common Destiny for Humanity, Panda Diplomacy, Made in China 2025 and TikTok Success were evaluated as China's achievements that strengthen and support the dream. However, almost all of the factors supporting the "China Dream" have a problematic appearance in themselves. In the third section, structural problems, the South China Sea issue, the Taiwan and Hong Kong issue, Debt Trap issue, New Trade Wars and the Chinese Threat are evaluated as problems that need to be overcome in the face of the dream discourse. The study reached two main conclusions: i) Even the elements that strengthen the "China Dream" have their own problems, ii) It is not possible for the "China Dream" to create a global impact unless the obstacles standing in the way of the "China Dream" are overcome. China's ability to convince the international community of its dream will depend on its ability to solve the problems that have emerged as a rising power over many years.