The Communist Party of China convened its 19th National Congress in Beijing on Wednesday with CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping delivering a report.

He explained his thoughts on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. The announcement has been widely interpreted as a milestone for the Communist Party of China, as Xi laid out his concept for the “Chinese Dream” and the rejuvenation of the nation.  

Speaking on CGTN’s World Insight, host Tian Wei asked her guests about the meaning of the phrase "national rejuvenation" for people outside China, asking that since the United States is now following a policy of “America First”, does the “Chinese Dream” represent “China First”?

"No, I think it is related to Chinese culture. As we know, Chinese culture may not be the longest civilization in the world, but it is the longest continuing civilization in the world and China's rise actually precisely called China's re-merging or re-rise to the central stage of the world affairs," said Cheng Li, Director and Senior Fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. 

"China was a great power, a great country for many centuries, so I think the rejuvenation of Chinese culture reflects the confidence of Chinese culture and reflects that China wants to return its glorious past," he said. 

Yuan Peng, Vice President of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that “American Dream" and "National Rejuvenation" are not the same thing.  

"'American First' means put American interests, American demands in the first place, first position, it's a little bit selfish, when talking about Chinese 'National Rejuvenation', according to Xi's definition, that is ‘Chinese Dream’, it's a dream of China as a country, as a nation, also it's a dream for 1.3 billion Chinese people to demand better life," he said. 

Yuan summarized China's development process: Chairman Mao made China stand up, Deng Xiaoping made China rich, now as China becomes stronger and stronger, the next step is towards "National Rejuvenation", which means putting China in its rightful place in the world.  

"I think 'National Rejuvenation' in a modest way is that 1.3 billion people have a better life,” he said.