Liao Defang, a delegate of China's 18th Communist Party Congress, poses for a photo after a group discussion meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. 2012. Alexander F. Yuan/AP
A man walks under a portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong inside a shop at the Forbidden City in Beijing, November 2012. Carlos Barria/Reuters
Chinese military band members rehearse before the opening session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on March 5, 2013. China's government promised its people deficit-fueled spending to fight deep-seated corruption, improve the despoiled environment and address other quality-of-life issues demanded by an increasingly vocal public looking for change. Kin Cheung/AP
China's President Xi Jinping (l.) and First Lady Peng Liyuan take part in a welcoming ceremony upon their arrival at Julius Nyerere International Airport with his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete (2nd l.) and First Lady Salma Kikwete ( r.) in Dar es Salaam, March 24, 2013. Xi faces growing calls from policymakers and economists in Africa for a more balanced trade relationship. Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Young Pioneers raise their hands as they attend the first class of the day after the weekly flag-raising ceremony at the East Experimental School in Shanghai in 2012. Created in 1949, the Young Pioneers movement is considered a seedbed for future members of the Chinese Communist Party and consists of children between the ages of six and 14. Carlos Barria/Reuters
A miner at work at a northern China coal mine. The industry is symbolic of the Asian giant’s prodigious economic gains, which have suddenly given the nation a major global role. Jason Lee/Reuters
A worker is silhouetted in the shimmer of a gigantic scale model of the busy city of Chengdu in southwestern China's Sichuan province. AP/File
An engaged couple sits on a bicycle as they pose for wedding photographs on a pedestrian bridge on Valentine's Day in central Beijing, 2011. As young Chinese become wealthier, there is one area where they are increasingly looking to make a big impression on their families and friends and create lifelong memories for themselves: weddings. China Daily/Reuters
Despite remarkable growth in such areas as electronics manufacturing, China’s role as the globe’s second largest economy has, so far, not been matched by geopolitical clout. Reuters/file
A oil-rig worker in Dongying, helped feed China's energy hunger: Enormous economic growth pushed oil demand up 7.5 percent from July 2010 to July 2011. Aly Song/Reuters
An investor in a Huaibei brokerage watches an electronic stock board. Reuters
A man walks across an illustration symbolising leisure lifestyle at the roadshow of a residential property development by major developer Sun Hung Kai Properties in Hong Kong February 27, 2013. Bobby Yip/Reuters
Shoppers walk past and look at a board displaying food prices at a shopping mall in central Beijing August, 2011. David Gray/Reuters
Shanghai – a city of 23 million – is one of the world's largest financial centers. Carlos Barria/Reuters
In recent months, Beijing has been talking up a 'new great power relationship.' China’s President Xi Jinping meets Obama for two days of unscripted talks in California on Friday.
One hundred years ago, Germany’s rise as a great power so destabilized the European order, and so scared top dog Britain, that the conflict between them tore their world to pieces. Further back in history, dominant Sparta’s fear of Athens’ emergence led to a war that left the ancient world in shreds.
/Photo-Galleries/Photos-of-the-Day/2013/Photos-of-the-day-06-17
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Nelson-Mandela-His-life-and-legacy
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Turkey-s-discontent
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Duchess-Kate-s-royal-baby-bump
/Photo-Galleries/Photos-of-the-Day/2013/Photos-of-the-Day-06-16
/Photo-Galleries/Photos-of-the-Day/2013/Photos-of-the-Day-0615
/Photo-Galleries/Photos-of-the-Day/2013/Photos-of-the-day-06-14
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Ireland-forever-images-of-the-emerald-isle
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Weather-extremes-2013
/Photo-Galleries/Photos-of-the-Day/2013/Photos-of-the-day-06-13
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Children-s-labors
/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/Wildfires-2013