An angle that gets lost in the raft of coverage about China -- surging economy, newest missile systems and debate about global ambitions -- is that China itself seems at times to be uncertain how to handle the tremendous growth.

That anxiety can be mixed with suspicions that the West is trying to take advantage of China by either saddling it with burdensome responsibilities (the carbon emissions debate is a good example) or using it as a boogeyman of sorts to gather more regional support (Beijing would likely point to current South China Sea tensions).

And there is always a general sense that the West is populated by hucksters ready to trick China into one trap or the other, as displayed in the China Daily cartoon above.

But beyond those more public examples, and the rhetoric that accompanies them, there is a concern here about how to manage the nation's advance.

The state Xinhua newswire issued a column today titled "Don't overestimate China's economy," written by Yi Xianrong,  director of the Finance Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He begins with recent news that China has surpassed Japan as the world's second-largest economy -- a happening not etched in stone, but if it hasn't occurred yet it's close -- and then gave a long list of the problems facing the central government.

Among them: a low per-capita GDP, over-reliance on exports and real estate, imbalance between rural and urban development and a profound disparity in income distribution.

What does it mean, exactly?

The Associated Press recently gave a good example: "Japan's people still are among the world's richest, with a per capita income of $37,800 last year, compared with China's $3,600. So are Americans at $42,240 ..." (emphasis mine)

It is worth pushing aside for a moment the arguments about the strength vs. weakness of China's economy -- as well as frustration in some quarters about China playing the victim -- and reading the last two paragraphs of the Xinhua piece:

“If these problems are not solved, the quality of China's economic development will be badly affected and China will face serious difficulties in the future. China's rapid GDP growth will be meaningless if these unbalances remain unsolved.

When we talk about China's economic power, we should be careful not to overestimate our strength. We are still an underdeveloped country and many problems need to be addressed ... Otherwise, if the country encounters a real financial crisis it may regress to what it was like years ago.”