A leading scholar of China studies said Beijing is still preoccupied with domestic development issues, and it will be a long-term goal for China to take up full scale international responsibilities.

Gustaff Geeraerts, professor of international relations at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, delivers a speech on "Modernizing in a Globalized World and China's Way" at the fifth World Forum on China Studies in Shanghai, March 23, 2013. [Photo by Uking Sun/chinadaily.com.cn]

Gustaff Geeraerts, professor of international relations at Vrije Universiteit Brussels and director of the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, said there is growing international expectation for China to take greater responsibility in supporting a sustainable global economy because China's expanding economic power has extended it's reach virtually across the globe.

But the global presence should not hide the fact that "China remains in many ways a fragile power" for reasons including relatively low GDP per capita, development disparity and ecological degradation.

"China is still at a premature stage of development and has to overcome tremendous internal difficulties within a reasonable timeframe... Sustainable domestic economic development is the most pressuring challenge," Geeraerts said at the fifth World Forum on China Studies in Shanghai.

Geeraerts said China is facing an ever-harder quandary deciding between China's identity as a developing country and its identity as an emerging power. Beijing also needs stable relationships with its Asian neighbors and the global community in order to limit disputes with China's rise and prevent other countries from containing China.

In the scholar's view, China will not simply adopt the "Western" system, nor will it try to delegitimize, challenge and replace it.

"The most likely road for China is to opt for an evolutionary path of gradually accepting more commitments and responsibilities...seeking to implement its own vision of global order pragmatically."