The destination of China's reform has been argued over for years. "The West" is one of the answers. Some people believe that China's inheritance of its own traditions should be restricted to insignificant spheres, such as culture. A complete Westernization in politics, they argue, is essential for China.

This kind of voice does have a reason for owning its market. The West is the winner in global contemporary and modern history. Its political path is also lionized as the only road to modernization and prosperity. In a global sphere, this dominance in terms of politics, culture and economy has been expanded with the collapse of former Soviet Union. China, as an up-and-coming country, is being heavily influenced by this admiration of the West.

By learning from other countries, China has successfully stepped out of the backwaters of poverty and backwardness in a century. The West is no doubt China's "chief instructor." Empiricism is the most powerful philosophical weapon that China wields. In the future, China will continue to learn from the West. But only after China manages to internalize their advanced technologies and experiences in social management can the nation "surpass its master."

This learn-from-the-West process is not the "complete Westernization" advocated by some voices. As a learner, China should be psychologically independent, having full control of what to learn and how to learn it. Considering that the bottom line is safeguarding the interests of the Chinese people, China cannot take the risk of being completely Westernized.

China is progressing on a road which features a hybrid system of innovation. China's path is a recombination of various elements from the former Soviet Union, the West and ancient China. China's national interests, instead of the West's values, can be the only baton.

China should also realize that the West will never be a "competent and devoted" instructor. The nature of international politics determines that the West's finger-pointing at China is embedded with ulterior motives.

China's current success in reform is achieved as the result of the nation's ability to integrate the essence of the West with China's ideological independence.

Advocates for complete Westernization will never vanish as long as China is still lagging behind its Western counterparts. Chinese society will have to advance amid the clamor of different voices. The advocacy for complete Westernization has brought in a benchmark system, which focuses on the current gap between China and the West but ignores its historical reasons.

However, the achievements China has made will help its people realize the infeasibility of complete Westernization. The integration of "learning from the West" and "sticking to its ideological independence" will prove effective this century.