China plays fairly, advocates peaceful development in the international community and never seeks hegemony, which is the "best soft power" the country can have, said a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official on Friday.

Qin Gang, spokesman of the Foreign Ministry and head of its information department, made the remarks in an online chat hosted by People's Daily. It marked the beginning of a series of Web interviews with ministry officials.

Responding to a question about how the country views its international status as the world's second-largest economy, Qin said that the country still faces many development problems, but China feels neither "arrogant" nor "self-abased".