During the Olympic show there was little mention of Mao or any other Communist, but plenty of ancient dynasties, calligraphy, painting, giant scrolls and a quotation from Confucius about the pleasure of welcoming “friends who visit from afar.” The long-awaited opening of the Beijing Olympics, the biggest (propaganda) event in China’s recent political history, will help define China’s emerging self-image as it shifts into a new era of power and pride on the global stage.

Reaching deep into its pre-revolutionary history, China is increasingly drawing on the patriotism of its people, a patriotism based not on ideology but on the glories of China’s ancient culture, bolstered today by the technological and military prowess of an economic superpower.

It is expected that the Communist Party of China will slowly emerge into the Confucian Party of China providing the tools for the party to modernize (but keep!) the centrally lead system. The big question remains what remote regions like Tibet and Xinjang have to do with this ancient history of China of which they were no part. Can China keep up the balancing act of providing enough nationalism to keep the country united while continuing opening up the country to act on the global markets? Can China keep its act together to indeed become a true world-leader, will China be eaten up from the inside and fragment in several micro-economie or  will we, in 10 years time, speak of the United States of East Asia?

Many people are debating the question: ‘what is the shape of the future succes of china?’ To my opinion we shouldn’t extrapolate the success but moreover debate whetherits source,  China, still exists in its current shape.