As a rising superpower, China has already impressed the world with its fascinating economic miracle and fabulous urban construction. Moreover, an increasingly notable spirit of entrepreneurship all across the nation is lying behind those shining economic data. Generally speaking, the present-day China is enthusiastically embracing entrepreneurship and individualism under the context that everyone is free to pursue wealth and is able to have his dream realized through dedication and diligence.
The reality TV show Win in China is an attention-getting illustration of the development of China's entrepreneurship realm. Candidates from all over the nation, as well as abroad (either foreigners or returnees), compete for the 10-million RMB venture capital as the start-up funding. Though the Win in China has borrowed many concepts and ideas from its American predecessor, the Apprentice, it did stand out by successfully showcasing and exploring the emerging spirit of entrepreneurship in China and raising the question of what the implication, both domestically and internationally, of the unprecedented eager for entrepreneurship will have on China's civil society.
Thirty years after the launch of the reform and opening-up policy, the whole globe has witnessed successes of China's economic model. Beginning to switch away from the low-cost manufacturing-oriented industries, China has put an ever increasing emphasis on innovation both technologically and ideologically and has been actively involved in those high value-added industries. To expand domestic demand and consumption is among the lessons China has learnt from the financial recession. Therefore, China is particularly aware of how critical it is to establish a more resource-efficient economic model. Naturally, domestic entrepreneurs will become a solid force in realizing and intensifying this transformation.
Going back to the reality show itself, Wang Lifen, the executive producer of this program, used to be a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. Located right on the Embassy Row in the center of Washing DC where thousands of NGOs concentrated, the Brookings is among those most influential think tanks in the United States. During her days in DC, Wang conducted researches on American media and compared it with their Chinese counterpart. Later on, Wang decided to transplant the model of the Apprentice onto China's soil, along with many adjustments dedicated to make the show more compatible with China's reality. Fortunately, the Win in China is a tremendous success in terms of the number of audience. Tens of millions normal Chinese witnessed how people as normal as themselves were selected to win that eight-figure venture capital.
Indeed, the success of the Win in China and the great impact it has created is by no means accidental. The show is based on the background that Chinese citizens are desperately eager to create wealth for both themselves and the society as a whole. The rise of entrepreneurship is likely to serve as a catalyst for them to promote their individualism and share more responsibilities through creating value for the entire society. The logic is that the overall efficiency across the nation will be significantly enhanced along with the rising awareness of those private-sector businesses.
At the same time, the emergence of millions of entrepreneurs in the last thirty years is a revelation of the comparatively liberal and relaxing government policies towards private sectors in this time frame. As long as laws and rules are obeyed, the space for entrepreneurs is fairly flexible. Jack Ma, one of the judges at the Win in China, is a typical representation and beneficiary of the nationwide rising sense of entrepreneurship. He founded the Alibaba.com, a China-based business to business website, in 1999 and became one of the very few vanguards of China's cyberspace. Passion, courage and innovation are the key elements to the success of Ma's career, as well as that of many other Chinese entrepreneurs.
Ideological disputes are increasingly marginalized in today's China as people become more material wealth-inclined and less ideology-concerned. China's private entrepreneurs, especially those who have contributed to the society in return by actively participating in philanthropy, are highly respected nowadays. This virtuous cycle, therefore, has created a win-win situation for everyone within this society.
The overall progress of a society entails the delicate division of labor in different arenas. Therefore, entrepreneurs, along with policy-makers, scholars and those in other occupations, are indeed essential in advancing the economic development and establishing a more harmonious civil society in China.
At the beginning of this summer, the New York–based Asia Society presented a documentary capturing the first season of the Win in China. As an increasing amount of people have noted the substantial progresses in China's private sector, the key elements of this phenomenon will surely play a more significant role in China's way towards modernization.
By Erdong Chen, a student and freelancer based at the American University, Washington DC.
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