However, what has changed is the level and scale of fields that the country has participated in on the global stage, given its development into an economic power from one of the world's poorest countries, Wang said.

The country's overseas presence and interests are gradually expanding as well, Wang said.

Chinese overseas students, for instance, account for one-seventh of the world's total number of overseas students, while the number of outbound tourists keeps rising, he said.

"China has become more visible on the global stage," he said.

Global concerns such as climate change and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula have shown that the views of Beijing and its willingness to act on them have become prerequisites to any solution, Wang said.

This trend has in turn raised the global vision and awareness of the Chinese, the expert said.

"This is a time when China is expected to play a larger role in many global issues," Wang said.

At the same time, experts said the survey has shown that more should be involved in assessing the power and influence of a country.

Yan Xuetong, head of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, said an accurate assessment of a country's power depends on its economic, military and political spheres, in addition to its cultural and intellectual prowess.

While there was no doubt that the country had risen to become an economic power in the past two decades, its military force has been weakened in that time and its political clout, if analyzed from its global influence, has come to a standstill, Yan said.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China should help maintain world peace, strengthen its democracy and seek prosperity for its own people, said Wang Yusheng, a Beijing-based researcher of international relations.

"Labeling China as a superpower is not in line with the country's goals," he said.

(China Daily March 27, 2008)