Howard W French of the NYT shifts attention from the future of China's internal economic and political system, and asks a thought-provoking question about China on the world stage: "What sort of power does China aspire to be?"

Those who fret most about China’s rise... seem to ignore some very basic, and as yet unanswered, questions. No matter how fast its economy grows, can a country make a successful transition to great-power status without real friendships, without associating itself meaningfully with any global ideal, or without bearing a more generous share of humanity’s burdens?

Outside observers who fail to take such questions into account are not alone. At least since Deng Xiaoping declared China should “lay low at a time of adversity,” the country’s leaders have seemed seduced by the anachronistic notion that their country, which boasts one of the world’s most vigorously globalizing economies, can best advance by keeping its head down and simply worrying about its own internal development.

French, author of A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa, not surprisingly uses China's increased economic profile in Africa as his text for spotlighting the limited scope of China's contributions and ambitions. Some interesting comments as well from several Chinese foreign policy academics.