China doesn't want world leadership but could be forced to assume that role if others step back , a senior Chinese diplomat says.
Zhang Jun, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's international economics department, made the comments during a briefing with foreign journalists to discuss President Xi Jinping's visit to Switzerland last week.
Topping the bill at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Xi portrayed China as the leader of a globalised world where only international cooperation could solve the big problems.
Speaking days before Donald Trump assumed the US presidency, Xi also urged countries to resist isolationism, signalling Beijing's desire to play a bigger role on the global stage.
Elaborating on that theme, Zhang said China had no intention of seeking global leadership.
"If anyone were to say China is playing a leadership role in the world I would say it's not China rushing to the front but rather the front runners have stepped back leaving the place to China," Zhang said.
"If China is required to play that leadership role then China will assume its responsibilities," he added.
While Trump said in his inauguration speech that American workers have been devastated by the outsourcing of jobs abroad, he did not mention China by name in his inaugural speech. However, he has threatened to put punitive tariffs on imports of Chinese goods.
Zhang said he thought Trump would not be able to achieve his economic growth goals if he was also fighting trade wars.
"A trade war or an exchange rate war won't be advantageous to any country," Zhang added.
China has also reiterated that the new US administration must fully understand the importance of the "one China" policy.
Trump said in December the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China".
"We urge the new administration to fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue and to continue pursuing the one China policy," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing in Beijing.
Hua called the policy the "political foundation" of future relations between the United States and China.
She said any US government had the obligation to stand by the promises made by both main US political parties and "strictly" maintain non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Hua also reiterated China's position on the South China Sea, saying the United States should not meddle in issues of China's sovereign territory.
