Good question! Just as China has began to implement more foreign ideas, there is also a lot of qualities that western societies can borrow from Chinese culture and people.

I am a Mandarin Chinese teacher from China. I have lived, traveled and studied in the USA.

I have also learned more about the mindset and culture of westerners by being a Mandarin Chinese teacher, so I’ve got some input!

Here are some positive Chinese qualities that western societies could implement:

Invest in Education at a Younger Age
I know that college education is expensive in the USA. Often, it’s discouraging to poorer families and kids who believe that they won’t be able to afford education. In China’s biggest cities, 60 percent of Chinese families spend one-third of their income on their children’s education. Sending a child to study abroad is a huge investment considering the comparison in the cost of higher education. A lot of my American students spent their high school years working hard to afford a car, social life and save for college. In China, high school is a full-time exercise if you’re preparing for college.


Open Your Ears and Close Your Mouth. —I mean this in a nice way ;)—
One big difference about how friends and acquaintances interact in China and in the USA is the amount of talking about yourself. In China, we generally don’t discuss our daily problems and opinions as much as Americans do. Discussion may be about shared scenarios and creating some kind of mutual interests rather than focusing the conversations on ourselves or our own experiences.


Endurance
Americans, for example, are very hard working. I know that American workers and students are goal oriented and driven. By “endurance”, I generally mean give up some comforts (such as car, expensive meals out, resorts, etc.) and not complaining. Chinese people rarely express discontent and tend to focus on the positive and constructive. Sometimes, this leads to miscommunication, but in general it is an optimistic mind-frame!


Adaptability and Speed of Change
China has changed drastically in the past twenty years or so. The pace of life is very quick and young Chinese are changing cities and relocating eagerly. China now has 20,000km of high speed rail that has been built over the past 10 years. This is an enormous amount in a short period of time. While the process of building infrastructure is different in China than it is in the USA, the “can-do” attitude is one that I believe is a good influence.


Obligation to Family
While divorce rates are rising in China, they are still less than in the west, especially when a child or children are involved (the birth rate is lower in China, obviously). Parents may sacrifice personal happiness for the sake of the children. Many American parents do this as well, but there is less of a stigma in the USA about being a single parent than in China. When discussing things like crime rates, many of my American students tell me that fatherless children have more problems later on in life.

Also, elders tend to stay near their children and children provide for them as they get older. The social security systems in China are not as developed as Europe or the US, so families tend to stay near each other, even though young Chinese are now migrating to the cities for better career opportunities


And finally, Eat the Damn Chicken Feet and Hearts
“The Chinese eat everything with four legs except tables—and everything that flies except airplanes”

Don’t throw all those “other” animal parts away: pig tail, beef tendon, chicken feet, etc. Learn to cook with it!

There are so many great parts of the animal that are not eaten by western countries but considered delicacies in China. While chicken feet may not be for everyone, I can guarantee that you will love chicken hearts if BBQ’d properly.

Cultural exchange sure is tasty and fun!