>> this is "bbc newsnight." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in. working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you?

>> this week, we travel to china. the forbidden city is forbidden no longer. increasingly prosperous and increasingly confident, what does it want in the world? >> more responsibility, more influence on this world. this does not mean more military threats. >> we find out what the word freedom means in china to the urban poor and young men about town. >> you cannot get rid of the communist party. >> chinese community is a throughout the world celebrated at the beginning of the new year as the rabbit gave way to the dragon. dragon years are considered exciting and unpredictable. this might be one of those rare

occasions where imagination matches reality. no one is prepared as much as the people's republic of china where over 1 billion people live in a communist government in a country which grows richer by the day. this poses enormous challenges for the rest of the world. >> in 1793, britain sent an official trade mission to beijing. it did not go well. britain was emerging as the greatest power on earth. inconveniently, inside of the forbidden city, the chinese emperor was under the impression that that was his role. the leader of the trade delegation was eager to open up a massive new market for british manufacturing.

when he got there, he brought before the emperor wedgwood pottery, the finest scientific instruments, and a miniature planetarium. the emperor was splendidly dismisses. he looked at the cream of european science and manufacturing and he said, we have no need of things ingenious or mechanical. china had everything it could possibly want. the trade mission was a disaster. the emperor may have been secure in his palace, but some britain could afford simply to ignore the old boy. when the chinese tried to stop british merchants, the royal navy said in gunboats -- sent

in gunboats. at the end, britain could trade where it likes. the chinese to embark on what they called their century of to humiliation. >> there was the boxer rebellion. this was the collapse of the last chinese dynasty. >> as britain rose, china fell. this man is try to tell his country's past in comic-book form. >> you could say that the experience that china had was less in power and it was very unpleasant. >> the hardest thing for a european too appreciate is how long the perspective is. rise and fall. a history of dynastic cycle is that lasts thousands of years. periods of war and foreign

innovation brought to an end by a strong government. -- for an invasion -- foreign invasion brought to an end by a strong government. where are we now? >> there is a very strong central government and people believe in standards improving. development is very fast. this is a textbook golden age. >> chinese people have never really had it so good. the gospel according to the party is that the end of a century of humiliation was the achievement of chairman mao and

the communists. fear of domestic collapse is imssible to shake. the old summer palace of the chinese emperor is took a generation is to construct. -- emperors took generations to construct. one emperor took two british hostage and tortured them. in fact, what britain and france did was this. they took the summer palace and they destroyed it. they destroyed it because the emperor would not agree to the demands of western capitalism. the british may have forgotten that. the chinese certainly haven't. the generation which will forge the future of this historically

aware society are in no doubt about the story the ruins tell. as you remember, this is humiliation. >> they do not forget. china is becoming stronger and stronger, especially its economy. maybe some people in the west, they fear that china will believe them. the chinese don't think so. -- they fear that china will bully them. >> do you think that china will become a superpower? >> in the 21st century? >> in the 21st century. >> this means more responsibility, more influence on this world. it does not mean more military threats. >> all of this destruction was done in the 19th century. this was really the century of the european imperialists, the

british and the french. who does the 21st century belonged to come what do you think? >> most people say china, definitely. >> the fear of chaos in this enormous country is ever present. even university professors believe that the antidote is firm government which means that the question of world status is a political one. >> if this is really decided by the chinese political leaders and if the chinese leadership are strong, then this country will move in the right direction. if the political leadership is weak and guide the country and the wrong direction, it can collapse at any time. >> where does this leave britain? in the garden shed according to this animation. this seems to be how the chinese see us now.

it has not gone quite to plan. the scheme was for the manufacturing to be outsourced to the world's most populous nation while the clever creative stuff state in europe. not anymore. written like to call itself the design capital of the world. -- britain likes to call itself the design capital of the world. get this, even the animations for the london olympics are made in china. these people have set their sights on the clever creative stuff that is done in europe and north america. this is not how complacent western governments saw things developing. economic gain is generally the forerunner of political and military power. >> the leadership will inevitably fall on china's

shoulders, whether they like it or not. increasingly, the lucky ones live a life of unequivocal maternity -- modernity. this is not just for commerce and design but for power and influence. can you have the freedom to create without the freedom to think? >> my internet access is only limited to the website which the chinese government allows me to visit. >> in the cultural revolution, this man was sent to be reeducated and the countryside and almost starved to death. he has been named by party loyalists as a menace.

his offense, he has written a book criticizing the cult of chairman mao. if people cannot even challenge history, can china really challenge the west? do you think that china will become a superpower in the sense that the united states or the soviet union were super powers? >> i don't think so. china does not provide any hope for ordinary people in the world. people look to europe, canada, and united states.

there is not any attaching. i don't think that china can be a superpower. >> this current dynasty looks likely to remain unchallenged as long as it continues to provide a level of comfort unimaginable to china's ancestors. for ordinary chinese, the country's international status is a lot less important than the prosperity brought by this strange marriage of communism and capitalism. been a truly never has time in chinese history where the country has gotten so much richer so quickly. the industry of the world comes calling and this time it has been allowed in. the world was yet to see what china expects in return for its labor. expect something it certainly will.

the trade mission scuttled away from beijing with what dignity it could claiming there was not a single proper laboratory in the entire country. that sort of abuse will not work any longer nor will military adventurism. it might be time for the rest of the world to learn something about the cycles of chinese history. >> the rest of the world is woefully ignorant about the most heavily populated country. it is not just the communist government, it is also something we just can't get into what is it like to live in a state where you can have more than your parents ever dreamed of and not be able to change the government? >> to get rich is glorious the words of the facilitator of

chinese communism unlikely romance with capitalism are born out across the country's capital. can you really have economic freedom without political freedom? this is the crucial contradiction. the secret of china's international success is not a secret at all. this makes things more cheaply than anywhere else. the secret of the political arrangement at home, that is much more complicated. the chinese emperors used to claim that the just ruler had a mandate from heaven. today, china's communist rulers claimed that their mandate comes from delivering social justice. this is the sort of person, a peasant, that chairman mao set out to help. it has been five years of rising

conditions and rising prosperity. he has diversified from vegetables and chickens to taking tourists along the great wall and feeding and lodging them in his home in the valley below. now he looks to have collided not just with have been or history but with money. he has spent years building up his business. now, the local authorities want to sell his land to a developer who plans to build a great wall theme park where his house now stands. >> the decision has been made so the project will go ahead. it is very sad. this is a beautiful place and none of us want to leave. >> he has no say in the matter. his ambition destined to become a necessary sacrifice.

a few miles down the valley is a taste of what is to come. under the shadow of the wall, they are already planting roses instead of apple trees. it is never quite clear where the state ends and private enterprise begins. either way, the little guy is a loser. once a year, china's vast economy briefly pauses. hundreds of millions of factory and office workers had home to spend new year with their families.

1125. i thought it was all one class. what is the difference in price? if i have enough money. thank you. >> maybe there is no purity and poverty. the social contract here is pretty obvious. you are allowed to make money but you are not allowed to dissent. of the enormous number of things made in the workshop of the world, this relationship between government and citizens is surely one of the very modest.

a communist regime that feeds its citizens by satisfying western consumerist capitalism. maybe if you have enough to eat, not having a vote will not really matter. the reading on the committee from beijing is more financial times these days. in this people's republic, people want to get seriously rich. to help them, the government provides a train capable at 200 miles an hour. this was once of the resented treaty ports where westerners were allowed to trade is being rebuilt day-by-day on the fruits of foreign trade. freedo the freedom to make money.

no small matter in a country where so many are still so poor. >> we are getting richer. almost everyone is getting better. this is very important. we can afford better lifestyles. we can do more things and we can have more choices. >> people want to have more money so they can do more things but there are lots of things they can't say. it's true, isn't it? >> yes. >> among the gloom of some of the skyscrapers, this is one of the few chinese cities that has preserved its colonial past. this hotel was founded by a british methodist missionary in the 1860's. there is no love for the

colonial power and the dynasty that accommodated them except in the travel and tourism trade. we are now in the original hotel. >> we work here and other people say this is the place of our hotel. the emperor and empress used to dance here very often. >> well, i feel lucky here already. >> there was no freedom whatsoever when foreigners did as they pleased and a feeble china. now, the bar is not reserved for foreigners. these are the new chinese middle-class, happier talking about sex in the city than the little red book. do you feel as free as a

woman in the west? >> we feel free. we can do the things we want. >> know you can't. you can't change your government. >> why do we have to change our government? >> don't you want the right to decide the laws under which you live? >> we have the right to decide some things. >> you cannot get rid of the communist party. >> why would we get rid of it? >> you might not like it? >> why do we have to change it? this is our government. this is with us. they give us close -- clothes, everything. maybe definition is different than what you mean.

>> freedom is a relative term and chinese people may well be more free than they have ever been. maybe we worry too much about definitions and maybe the amazing growth of china can continue forever. if it can't, then perhaps things more intangible than the latest electronic play thing will come to seem more important. but not for now. >> we spoke to the chinese ambassador to the u.k. >> let's try to define our terms. are you a commu>> no, we think s the ruling party which is the communist party and the communist party has 17 million party members.

you have to remember the country with 1.3 billion population. i don't think that you can call china the communist country. you cannot call the u.k. a conservative uk. >> yes, but you can call it a capitalist country. >> this is a socialist country with chinese characteristics. that is different. >> talking to young people in particular in beijing, i got the impression that they were pretty optimistic about the chinese international role. they saw this as the century which was developing in a way which is going to make china a much more significant force in the world. do you think that? >> china will certainly contribute its part to the prosperity of the world.

we do not see china as a superpower. i would characterize china as the largest developing country with increasing international influence and responsibilities. >> but people look at what china does. in the security council, for example. you opposed to sanctions on syria, sanctions on iran and they wonder what you're trying to achieve. >> they are not a threat. >> iran is a threat to world peace. >> iran within the clear weapon is not in the interest of peace and stability in the region. china makes it very clear that we are opposed to a nuclear weapon program. that has been reaffirmed by the

chinese premier. >> what about the sanctions? >> these of the sanctions in place. we also encourage diplomatic negotiations. >> what about economic power? china sits on trillions of dollars worth of foreign exchange. what is that for? >> what is that for? >> yeah. >> china is relatively poor country. china is number two in terms of gdp after only the u.s. but per capita gdp, china is behind 100 countries. there are still 700 million people living in the countryside. there is still about 155 million people living under one u.s. dollar a day. that is the poverty line.

this enormous responsibility for chinese governments to improve the likelihood of those parts of the population of china. >> let's talk about that matter of human rights. the well-known artist said that without free speech, you are living in a barbaric world. do you understand what he is getting at? >> we have the freedom. otherwise, how could you get his opinion on this? >> he has been imprisoned, of course. >> no, he has been under investigation for his suspicion for e evading tax, destroying his accounting books. in any country, if you are in a country ruled by law, you have

to respect and abide byhe law. >> that is all from china and news night for this week. from all of us here, goodbye. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in. working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc newsnight" was presented by kcet, los angeles.