Chinese should ‘build our own indicator system’

Renowned Chinese political scientist and writer Zhang Weiwei shares his views on a forum. Lin Jianping

Zhang Weiwei, a renowned Chinese political scientist and writer, emphasized the importance of developing a distinct indicator system in China to effectively convey the country’s narratives to the outside world at a forum in Shenzhen on Thursday.

“Chinese people should build our own indicator system, as we have our traditional qualitative methods. Any subtle changes in the indicator system will affect the outcomes, so we must follow the philosophy of simplicity,” Zhang said at the Sub-forum on Innovative International Communication in the Age of New Media.

Zhang, who is also a professor of international relations at Fudan University and the director of the China Institute of Fudan University, shared his points on the topic of how to better tell China’s stories to the outside world at a panel discussion during the sub-forum.

Zhang explained, “For example, if we compare Shanghai with New York, if you just look at the officially calculated GDP, New York is four times the size of Shanghai. But the GDP of the United States, specifically the GDP of New York, is more or less a transaction of derivatives. There is quite some hype.”

Zhang added that China should follow the philosophy of simplicity and create a five-in-one indicator that concerns people’s livelihoods, namely median household net worth, life expectancy per capita, infant mortality rate, level of social security, and level of infrastructure. By using this indicator system, Zhang argued that Chinese cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen would surpass New York in overall performance.

In response to a question from the audience on how to promote China’s grand narrative to the West, Zhang suggested that China should maintain self-confidence and engage in friendly and sincere exchanges with the West, emphasizing the importance of learning from each other and complementing each other’s strengths.