Media and analysts have been busy interpreting Chinese leaders' remarks, analyzing China's solutions to the current financial crisis, and evaluating the country's contributions to the world economy.

Behind such interest and attention is China's growing comprehensive national strength and international influence resulting from 30 years' reform and development.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the country's economy in 2007 accounted for some 6 percent of world's total, a big increase from the 1.8 percent in 1978, making China the fourth largest economy in the world.

China has the world's largest foreign reserves and is the top trading partner of Japan and the second largest trading partner of the United States and the European Union.

Experts say the figures mirror China's growing role as both a commodity and service supplier and a large consumer in world trade, making it one of the major engines of the world economy.

During talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the Asia-Europe Meeting on October 24, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said China is an important factor in stabilizing the global economy and has played a responsible role in dealing with the global financial crisis.

His remarks were echoed by Paul Evans, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada, in his article "Getting China just right," published in the Globe and Mail.

"China is no longer 'over there' but a daily part of our economic lives," he wrote. "The current financial crisis underscores the significance of China's new global role in unmistakable ways."