China is located at the central part of Asia in terms of traditional geopolitics. It has the leadership of economic development in the region, making greater contributions than the US and Japan. China has joined almost all the regional economic organizations in East Asia and it is also a core member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

China has no political or military alliance with other neighboring countries but has disputes with Japan, India, and Vietnam in territory-related issues.

The international security system of East Asia is based on bilateral military relations between the US and its Asian partners, which are all targeted at China in some way.

This makes China difficult to represent the whole region when speaking on some international political issues, meaning that the country cannot be a "leader" or "spokesman" for politics. Meanwhile, even if China has a growing role in other countries, it still lags behind the US.

China is one of only a few remaining socialist countries in the world, and has its own systems of politics and economics. On the other hand, China is still reforming and it might be disrupted by several factors.

For instance, the country's territory still needs to be unified and it should be alert about national separatism.

The economy is growing fast but the government is still confronted with social and ecological challenges. Although the nation as a whole has deep pockets and is able to handle huge projects, the per-capita income is still very low.

Meanwhile, China has a sharply different attitude toward the multi-party system and secession than many other developing countries due to its own domestic and international issues.

China is the developing country with the strongest potential, but is still lagging behind the US, the EU and Japan in terms of soft power, including the maturity of economy, technology, education and culture.

It's an important Asian player with global interests and impact, but is still unable to take a leadership role in the region.

It's a socialist country with unique governing and value systems, but is experiencing deep reforms and awaiting territorial unification as well as threatened by national separatism and social unrest.

And it is a beneficiary, a participant and a reformer of the current international political order, but restrained by rules formed and enforced by Western countries.

The author is dean of the School of International Studies, Peking University.