The Chinese have never thought about the idea of China.

“The United States was built on the idea of America,” said Xu Guoqi, the David H.Y. Chang Professor of Chinese History at the University of Hong Kong. “The Chinese have never thought about the idea of China in a big way. We need a deep soul-searching: What do we mean by China? Who are the Chinese? What do we want to be?” he said. “Just as the Americans did in 1787 with their constitution.”