In April 2025, China's first independently developed quantum computer "Jiuzhang-4" achieved a quadrillion operations per second; BYD, the new energy vehicle brand with the largest global market share, announced the launch of megawatt flash charging technology and the deployment of the Eye of God intelligent driving system to its entire series of models; China's high-speed rail mileage accounts for 70% of the world's total, and the number of 5G base stations exceeds 2 million, covering all prefecture-level cities... Behind these data, China has long since transformed from a "follower" to a "leader", however, many social media are still full of the argument that "China is not as good as foreign countries": some people marvel at the cleanliness of Japanese streets, some envy Germany's "craftsmanship", and some even assert that "Chinese technology will never catch up with the West", and a comment that "Chinese chips will never catch up with the United States" can receive tens of thousands of likes. This split between "real progress" and "public perception" reflects a question worth pondering: Why do a large number of people still think that China is "not good enough" today when China's hard power is rapidly improving?

The misalignment between historical memory and psychological expectations

From the "sick man of East Asia" to the world's second largest economy, China has completed the 300-year journey of developed countries in 70 years, but psychological adjustment takes longer.

1. The "psychological sequelae" of a century of humiliation. After the Opium War in 1840, China experienced a century-long semi-colonial history. This period of history not only destroyed the economic foundation, but also left a deep trauma on the national psychology. The backwardness of modern China is the comprehensive result of "feudal autocracy, cultural closure, and economic stagnation." This historical memory is passed on from generation to generation through textbooks, film and television dramas, forming a collective subconscious of "backwardness means being beaten." Even though China has risen today, some people still subconsciously equate "modernization" with "Westernization."

2. The inertia of intergenerational cognition. The post-50s and post-60s groups have experienced the era of material scarcity, and the idea that "the moon is rounder in foreign countries" is deeply rooted in their subconscious. According to a survey conducted by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, 42% of people over the age of 55 still believe that "imported goods are of better quality", even if the performance of similar domestic products has surpassed foreign brands.

3. The mindset of "chaser mentality", China's main contradiction is still "the contradiction between people's needs and backward production". This "problem-oriented" official statement objectively strengthens the people's "sense of inadequacy". In the early days of reform and opening up, the strategy of "making is not as good as buying, buying is not as good as renting" allowed China to quickly integrate into the global industrial chain, but also strengthened the cognitive inertia of "Western technology cannot be surpassed". The survey shows that 45% of the people believe that "core technology still relies on imports". This "chaser mentality" has been continuously activated in the fields of chips, aircraft engines, etc., forming a self-negative cycle. When the United States discussed interstellar colonization, China was still emphasizing "solving bottleneck technology". This difference in discourse affected the public's judgment.

Unbalanced development leads to visible gaps and invisible chasms

China's development is not a uniform motion, but an "overloaded train" - some carriages have already entered the future, while others are still moving forward in the mud.

1. The reality of the split between the urban and rural dual structure. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics in 2024, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in China is 2.34 times that of rural residents, and the gap in medical resources and education quality is even greater. In the mountainous areas of Guizhou, there are still families using bamboo strips to weave "walls" to block the wind; and the financial elites in Lujiazui, Shanghai, have begun to discuss how to allocate Mars travel funds. This "folding China" scene makes it difficult for some groups to perceive the overall progress of the country.

2. The gradient difference in regional development. The Department of Sociology of Peking University found that residents in the developed eastern regions are more inclined to evaluate social status based on modern standards such as education and occupation, while the underdeveloped central and western regions still have "relationship network determinism". When factory owners in the Pearl River Delta earn tens of millions of yuan a year through cross-border e-commerce, young people in a county in the northwest may still be worried about jobs with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.

3. The "smile curve dilemma" of the industrial chain. Although China ranks first in the world in the export of new energy vehicles, key chips still rely on imports. Data from Q1 2025 in the pharmaceutical field show that high-end biological drug patents account for only 13%, and implantable technologies account for only 2% of medical device patents. This "big but not strong" industrial status quo has exacerbated people's anxiety.

Information cocoons cause people’s cognitive landscape to be divided by algorithms

1. Long-term penetration of Western discourse system. According to a survey conducted by the Center for International Communication Research of Tsinghua University, negative topics account for more than 65% of Western media reports on China, and most of them focus on traditional narrative frameworks such as environmental protection and human rights. Data shows that only 23% of European and American people believe that Chinese technology is "innovative". This narrative is spread through social media for the second time, and even affects the domestic public opinion field.

2. Cognitive traps of algorithm recommendation. Short video platforms push content according to user preferences, forming an "information echo wall". Teenagers who are keen on Japanese anime will continue to receive videos of "Japanese streets are spotless", but they will not see the social crisis of Japan's aging rate exceeding 30%; users who pay attention to American technology are always pushed SpaceX rocket recovery, but ignore the fact that China's Chang'e 6 has achieved sampling on the back of the moon. This fragmented information exacerbates cognitive bias.

3. The "negative preference" mechanism of social media Brain science research has confirmed that human memory for negative information is 5 times stronger than positive information. When a food safety incident occurs in a certain place, the algorithm of the short video platform will push hundreds of similar cases, creating the illusion that "Chinese food is not safe", but will not automatically push the more than 2,000 new national food safety standards added each year. 4. Barriers to the dissemination of professional knowledge China's breakthroughs in quantum communications, ultra-high voltage power transmission and other fields often exist in the academic circle in the form of "paper patents". The 2025 pharmaceutical patent report reveals that patents for drug delivery devices account for 43%, but the public is more familiar with the "sky-high drug" controversy. This contradiction between "advanced technology" and "lagging perception" makes it difficult for the public to establish a comprehensive understanding.

The road to breaking out of the cocoon: Building a rational cognitive coordinate system to break cognitive bias requires the joint efforts of multiple parties to build a more three-dimensional narrative system.

1. Replace "absolute comparison" with "comparative advantage". China's high-speed rail mileage accounts for 65% of the world's total, and its installed capacity of renewable energy exceeds 1.2 billion kilowatts... The achievements of these "single champions" can be transformed into the cognitive coordinates of the people. As revealed by the 2025 Annual Meeting of the China Development Forum, multinational companies have regarded China as an "innovation test field", and this external evaluation deserves more dissemination.

2. Establish a cognitive framework of "process philosophy". Germany's Industry 4.0 has accumulated for a hundred years, while China's manufacturing industry has only taken 20 years from OEM to smart manufacturing. Understanding development requires "timeline thinking", as Indian scholars commented: "China has completed industrial upgrading in one generation, and this acceleration itself is a miracle."

3. Creating "perceptible progress" During the Hangzhou Asian Games, tens of thousands of citizens participated in the opening ceremony as "digital torchbearers"; Beijing hutong grandpas used mobile phone apps to manage chronic diseases... These concrete technological benefits can build public confidence better than GDP figures.

When China cheers for the C919 flying in the blue sky, it should also be aware of the gap in engine technology; when China is proud of the world's second largest digital economy, it should also pay attention to the network coverage problem in remote mountainous areas. True self-confidence comes from honesty about shortcomings and determination to make progress. In the next decade, when more young people sow seeds cultivated by themselves, explore the deep sea with domestic instruments, and train AI with independent algorithms, the question of "Can China do it?" will eventually turn into the confidence to move towards the stars and the sea.