In justifying this, one student referenced London's Olympic opening ceremony. He was right. The chief reason why Danny Boyle's spectacle was a success was that it put the nation's split personality on show, projecting an image of Britain that the world recognised and one that Britons themselves could actually stomach. 

Martin Jacques is, of course, correct in stating that, with 56 different ethnic groups and a population of 1.3 billion, China is "more like a continent than a nation". My experience of teaching 35 students in Beijing was admittedly limited. Universities tend to operate as mini-globalised enclaves, attracting those of ample means and atypically liberal views. But my experience should not be entirely discounted.

The fact is that most Western reporting of China tends to revolve around a mixture of fear and misrepresentation. I could have told you about the airbrushed history on display at the Museum of China, the propaganda-filled newspapers, or the fact that I was advised to travel everywhere with my passport. All would have been true, but not a faithful depiction of the country. While it is important to recognise China's poor human rights record, its censorship and lack of democracy, it is equally important not to confuse the state with its people. 

The world has nothing to fear and everything to gain from China's rise. To quote Jacques again: "For the Chinese, what matters is civilisation. For Westerners it is nation." In teaching my students about the British nation, I had learnt much about Chinese civilisation. Indeed, I fear, they had taught me much more than I had taught them.