Yellow book ranks China 7th in overall strength

Negative growth, financial turmoil, trade issues, water pollution and military spending were keywords highlighted by scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as they assessed the comprehensive strength of 11 nations. The results appear in the academy's latest yellow book on the world economy and international situation.

The US, Japan and Germany came out at the top, while China ranked seventh on the list.

Continuous armed conflict, terrorism and financial turmoil in 2009 have posed grave threat to the world, the book points out. And 2009 marked a year for a changing international power balance, with increased influence for newcomers to the global stage