Witnessing China’s Greatness from Within: An International Educator’s Perspective

Hasmik Hakobyan, Armenia, PhD, is a cross-cultural communication expert and educator. She is the founder and director of the Teacher Development Center at the International Department of Chongqing No. 8 High School Education Group, as well as an international curriculum teacher. She is also a member of the International Confucian Association. In 2024, she was appointed Senior Arbitrator at the Asia-Pacific International Arbitration Court and serves as an expert committee member at the Nishan World Confucianism Center.

I first arrived in China in 2012 knowing little about China, not even able to recognize a single Chinese character. Today, after more than a decade of living and working in Chongqing, I have come to see what “greatness” truly means—not as an abstract concept, but as a dai ly real ity bui lt by pol icy, perseverance, and people.
As an Armenian born educator, international trainer, and cultural exchange expert, I have worked with regional and international organizations. But nowhere have I witnessed a nation so confidently modernize its own heritage while embracing global wisdom. On the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), I want to share my story as someone who has seen, from the front line of international education, how China has set an example for the world.
A Childhood Shaped by Shared Values
To understand why I feel so deeply at home in China, I must go back to my earliest years. I was born in the Republic of Armenia in 1980— at that time, still part of the Soviet Union. I grew up in a system that, despite its well known flaws and ultimate collapse, instilled in me certain core values: the belief that education should be free and universal; that society must care for its weakest members; that col lect ive ef fort can overcome individual hardship; and that a nation’s strength lies
in its unity and long term planning.
When I studied the history of the Communist Party of China later in life—first as a student of international relations, then as a PhD candidate in economic law—I felt a strange and powerful recognition. The CPC had taken many of the ideals I was raised with—social justice, anti poverty campaigns, mass literacy, respect for labor and learning—and made them work, not through compulsion but through adaptat ion to Chinese reality. The CPC learned from the Soviet experiment, avoided its mistakes, and created a model that is stable, prosperous, and deeply rooted in its own civilization.

Hasmik Hakobyan's family celebrates their eldest son's graduation from Chongqing No. 8 High School

That recognition made me a witness. I saw that the values I had absorbed as a child in Armenia— solidarity, perseverance, the primacy of the next generation—were alive and flourishing in China. So when the opportunity came to settle in China permanently, I did not hesitate. I wanted my sons to grow up in a society that still believed in healthy values and a healthy environment.
China’s Greatness Begins with Vision
Greatness, in my observation, is not about loud declarations. It is about consistent, long term vision. China’s educational transformation is a perfect example. When I first started teaching in China, I already saw a unique blend: respect for traditional Chinese culture combined with a hunger for international best practices.
Today, as the founder and di rector of the Teachers’ Professional Development Center (TPDC) under the International Department at Chongqing No. 8 Secondary School educat ion group, I see how the CPC’s policies have systematically raised the quality of education throughout China and how “indigenous knowledge” is not discarded but modernized.
For instance, in my AP Human Geography and Cultural Studies courses, we discuss China’s ancient Silk Road alongside the modern Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Students learn that the idea of “a community with a shared future for mankind” is not a slogan. It is rooted in Confucian harmony, adapted to 21st century challenges. China takes its own philosophical traditions—collective responsibility, respect for learning, and long term planning—and gives them contemporary tools like high speed rail and digital classrooms.
Modernizing Indigenous Knowledge to Educate Generations
One of the most impressive aspects of China’s governance is how it modernizes without erasing identity. In many countries, modernization means Westernization. Not here.
Within our educational group with 10 public schools, we run public speaking clubs, portfolio writing workshops, and “Art of Public Speaking” courses. But we always encourage students to ground their arguments in Chinese examples—from ancient poets to modern scientists. When our teachers offer foreign courses. They use case studies from Chinese companies like Huawei, Alibaba, and BYD to show how local values (long-term trust, social stability) translate into global success.
The CPC understands that a nation’s strength lies in its educated, conf ident youth. Over the years, I have educated generations of young people who are far more than mere exam takers. They are critical thinkers, confident global citizens, and deeply proud of their Chinese heritage. They debate complex issues in English, think independently, analyze international policies with nuance, and stay ahead of global innovation—not because they are forced to, but because they have learned to love learning itself. This does not happen by accident. It happens because China has invested in teacher training, curriculum innovation, and international exchange.

The Red Scarf: A Moment That Confirmed Everything
But the most personal and profound evidence of China’s greatness stands before me every day—my two sons. I brought them to China when they were only two and four years old. They arrived speaking neither Chinese nor English fluently. They were small, foreign, and far from the only home they had known. Yet, China embraced them.
Today, they have not only adapted—they have thrived. They have mastered the Chinese language to a native level, studying alongside their Chinese peers in local schools. They celebrate Spring Festival with the same warmth. They recite Tang poetry, understand local dialects, use idiomatic expressions and navigate Chinese social media with ease. But more importantly, they have internalized the values that China nurtures: respect for teachers, diligence, curiosity, and a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves.
I will never forget the first time my elder son tied on the red scarf—the symbol of the Young Pioneers of China. I had grown up in the Soviet Union, where a similar red scarf marked a child’s entry into the Young Pioneers. That system is gone now, buried with the USSR. But here, in China, I watched my son stand straight, raise his hand in salute, and receive that same red symbol—as a living, meaningful commitment to a future being built today. What I felt was confirmation—the deep, unshakable certainty that I had made the right decision. I had chosen China not just for convenience, but because I believed that here, my sons could grow up with healthy values in a healthy environment. The red scarf on their chests proved that belief true.
My international family became the human bridge between many countries. We share diverse cultures and speak several languages around the dinner table, which seems like a small UN gathering. When we travel abroad, they proudly say they are from China, by introducing Chinese history, food, and traditions to international audiences. At official events, they explain Chinese customs to visiting foreign delegations and they take the stage telling Chinese stories to the world. They have been interviewed by Chinese media as “foreign brothers with a heart for China”—and indeed, their heart is here. I found a home for my family’s soul.

Hasmik Hakobyan's family experiences the night view of Chongqing's Xiaohao Li historic district

What China gave my sons was not just an educat ion. It gave them an ident ity without inferiority—a rare gi f t in a world where many children of expatriates feel rootless. Here, they are not “foreigners t rying to fit in.” They are valued members of a societ y that celebrates multiculturalism while staying proudly Chinese.
China as an Example to the World
What can the world learn from China? From my perspective as a foreign expert and a mother, I would answer this question not with statistics or policy papers, but with the quiet certainty of lived experience. The answer, I believe, lies in three interwoven pillars: long-term stability, genuine inclusivity, and the courage to embrace the best of socialist values while steadfastly avoiding the failures that have fractured so many other societies.
My journey f rom West to East has shown me painful truths: countries where instabi lity steals chi ldhood, societ ies where once st rong value systems lie fragmented, diversity that never deepens into true integration, and a culture that too often worships the individual while forgetting the community—where “freedom” becomes an excuse for isolation, where success is measured in personal accumulation rather than collective well-being, and where the lonely pursuit of self-interest replaces the quiet dignity of shared responsibility.

In China, I found a different model —one that does not lurch from crisis to crisis, but moves forward with a steady, unshakable conf idence rooted in continuity.
The Communist Party of China plans for decades, not election cycles. Where other nations lurch from one administration to the next, discarding progress with each change of leadership, China builds with patience—with the knowledge that true transformation requires time, that meaningful change cannot be rushed, that the foundations of a great society must be laid stone by stone, year by year. The “105th Anniversary” is not just a number on a calendar—it is a testament to continuity, to the unbroken thread of purpose that runs through generations, to a vision that extends far beyond the horizon of any single lifetime.
And that continuity creates something profound, something precious: safety.
Not merely physical safety—though that alone is remarkable in a world so often defined by violence and uncertainty. But a deeper, more fundamental safety: emotional safety. The kind of safety that allows a mother to raise her sons without the gnawing anxiety that haunts so many parents in unstable parts of the world. The kind of safety that lets a child walk to school alone, play in the park until sunset, and dream about the future without the shadow of collapse hanging over their heads. The kind of safety that transforms a society from a collection of fearful individuals into a community of confident citizens, each contributing to a shared destiny.
The Lesson of International Education
But there is another lesson—one that lies at the very heart of my work as an educator and cultural bridge. It is the lesson of international education, and what it truly means to build a global community.

As an educator, I have witnessed firsthand the transformat ive power of educat ion that crosses borders. I have seen Chinese students learn not only about the world, but from the world—developing global competence while remaining deeply rooted in their own cultural ident ity. And I have seen international students, like my own sons, discover that they can belong to a place that was not their birthplace, that they can contribute to a society that welcomes them with open arms.

International education, in my experience, is not about exporting one culture or imposing one set of values upon another. It is about dialogue—the respectful exchange of ideas, the patient listening to different perspectives, the willingness to learn from one another without losing oneself. It is about recognizing that our differences are not obstacles to understanding, but bridges to deeper connection.
China has embraced this vision with remarkable clarity. The country’s commitment to universal educat ion is a model that many nat ions could learn from. But beyond access, there is quality: the cultivation of critical thinking, cultural awareness, and moral character. Chinese education does not simply produce workers for the economy; it nurtures citizens for society, individuals who understand their responsibilities to their community, their nation, and their world.
I have watched my own children benefit from this system—not as outsiders looking in, but as full participants in a shared educational journey. They learned alongside their Chinese peers, absorbed the same lessons, sang the same songs, stood for the same f lag. And in doing so, they developed something that cannot be taught from any textbook: a deep and genuine respect for a culture that was not their own, but that became, in every meaningful sense, theirs.
The world is searching for answers. Some look to the past, hoping to resurrect old certaint ies. Some look to technology, believing that innovation alone can solve our deepest problems. Some look to ideologies that promise quick fixes but deliver only disappointment and division.
Perhaps, however, the answer is simpler than we think—and closer than we imagine.
It lies in a society that plans for its children, that invests in their future not as a political talking point, but as a moral imperative. It lies in a culture that values its elders, that honors the wisdom of generat ions and recognizes that progress without roots is merely motion without meaning. It lies in a system that li f ts the vulnerable—not as an afterthought, not as a concession, but as a fundamental priority. And it lies in a vision that sees the future not as a threat to be feared, but as a
promise to be fulfilled.
That is what I have found in China. That is the lesson I carry in my heart. And that, I believe, is what the world can learn.
A Shared Future Begins with Shared Stories—and Shared Values
China is a place where the past is honored, the present is lived fully, and the future is built with care, with intention, with hope. Not as a concept, but as a lived reality—a place where the soul of a civilization meets the aspirations of a new generation, where ancient wisdom and modern progress walk hand in hand, where a foreigner can find a home and a mother can watch her children thrive.
On the 105th Anniversary of the CPC, I do not offer empty praise. I offer observation: China has built an education system that respects the past, equips the present, and prepares the future. It has modernized indigenous knowledge—from Confucian harmony to legal traditions—into practical tools for global governance. And it has done so while remaining open, cooperative, and humble.
But above all, I offer my family—even a foreign child can grow up with healthy values, a healthy environment, and the confidence to introduce China to the world.
The world faces many challenges: climate change, inequality, technological disruption. No single country has all the answers. But China has shown that greatness is possible when a nation trusts its own path, learns from others and never forgets the next generation—even the ones who were not born on its soil.
Happy 105th Anniversary, to the Communist Party of China! You took solidarity, universal education, collective progress—and breathed new life into them through decades of patient, determined governance. You built a nation of proud young people who voice their vision and prove themselves successful, making you proud, making China proud. Today, I do not offer you praise from a distance. I offer you my dedication, my family, and my deepest gratitude. I am proud to be a small part of this story, and I look forward to many more years of teaching, training, and building a community with a shared future right here in China. I join with you, China, as we move towards a more harmonious tomorrow and a peaceful coexistence among all peoples. May your journey continue to inspire for a hundred more years and beyond. Happy Birthday, CPC!
Source: INTERNATIONAL TALENT