On May 12, 2008 a 7.8 seismic jolt leveled entire cities and killed upwards of 65,000 people in the Middle Kingdom’s Sichuan province. This powerful earthquake has also impelled a tectonic shift – a revolution of sorts – in how states around the world and China’s own citizens view the People’s Republic.

Recent discussions to open direct cross-Straits flights are a byproduct of a new and more refined Chinese diplomatic strategy. In many ways this strategy has benefited from China's response to the earthquake in Sichuan that has compelled the central government to take a more pragmatic and even-handed approach to both domestic and foreign challenges.

China’s government-controlled news organs are showing a nation that is both hurt and healing. Amidst the rubble, pictures of a resilient people and unified nation are emerging. Politicians and military officials are reaching out to ordinary Chinese citizens and allaying their fears of government abandonment. Many observers who have long been skeptical of the government’s welfare state policies have been forced to reconcile their views with this newfound institutional compassion and to accommodate the possibility of China’s own glasnost – or gradual opening.

The now famous pictures of Premier Wen Jiabao consoling mothers and fathers who lost their children and hugging and tending to orphaned kids instantly conferred legitimacy on the Beijing government in a way that was, up to now, considered impossible without direct Tiananmen-style revolution. June 4, 2008 will mark the 19thanniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, but this time the images of gross government crackdown and murder are being replaced by visions of a compassionate and altruistic government. Perhaps in twenty years time, May 12 will mark a major historic turning point in China’s trajectory.

All the while, China is slowly engaging in dialogue with its people and the international community. Domestically, from consumer safety to water pollution to food rations, the government is taking steps to enhance the wellbeing of its citizens. Even though many of these processes are painstakingly slow, initial signs of progress are becoming evident – though nowhere close to complete – in many urban areas outside of Beijing and Shanghai. Regionally, Beijing is engaging in discussions to address a variety of issues from North Korean nuclear proliferation to organized crime and narco-trafficking in Burma. China’s image in the international community has also been strengthened. Gone are stories of crackdowns in Tibet and Xinjiang. Replacing these are countless tales of an empathetic and responsible government. International goodwill – even from China’s most reluctant neighbors, Japan and Taiwan – are giving China’s image, “the Beijing Consensus,” a critical facelift.

Contrast China’s dialogue on good governance with what is effectively a monologue with dictatorships around the world and the process of glasnost seems to be in its infancy. Internal factionalism within the communist party about the future of its Maoist policies and the speed of liberalization continues to generate tremendous uncertainty about China’s ascent and behavior. Will it be aggressive or peaceful? China’s international presence – from Khartoum to Tehran to Pyongyang – has been complicating American efforts (albeit at times lackluster) to either counter genocidal forces or denuclearize potential adversaries. This seems to indicate a China that has yet to mature and understand the ramifications of its unethical foreign policy.

All doubts of China’s malignancy are supposed to wash away when the Chinese torch, which has traveled the world (at times with great unease) and ascended the highest peak on the planet, reaches the central Beijing Olympic stadium. The ceremony will showcase a modern and progressive China that is an international powerhouse. Equipped with integrated telecommunications systems, major highways, bustling cosmopolitan cities, and a unique and rich culture, China and its ruling communist party are ready to put their best foot forward. For the CCP, the Olympics are meant to start a new conversation with the western world about China’s role and status.

The international community has long demanded that China become a more responsible stakeholder in global affairs. Regardless of what China is, the People’s Republic has taken a large step toward starting a conversation with its people and the world that may redefine the terms of its status in the international community. China is on firm footing to make a grand and dramatic entrance into the “great powers” club. Perhaps it’s time for the United States to recognize that China deserves a seat at the table. Failure to do so will not only undermine American influence in the region but will most assuredly compromise Washington’s ability to gradually nudge China toward becoming more democratic.

The tragedies that have befallen the denizens of Sichuan are immense. Little good comes out of such episodes, but the events over the course of the last month may prove both historic and instrumental for China’s ascent to great power status. China’s rise is arguably one of the most remarkable and fascinating in history. Double digit growth rates and a growing middle class population that is projected to surpass the total American population are inspiring. Regardless of whether the earthquake impels revolution, the signs of a Chinese inspired glasnost have become more prevalent in the aftermath of the 5/12 earthquake.

The author is the Bacevich Fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C. and specializes in Asian security issues.