It is like stepping into an elite gathering when an event is underway.

The new entrant is the cynosure of all eyes. Every movement of the newcomer is met with curiosity, suspicion, and, at times, scorn.

Trying hard to blend in with the select group and merge with the surroundings, the debutante wonders aloud: Where am I headed? What should I do?

It can be lonely at the top, the loneliness of the frontrunner.

That is what China went through in 2009, the year that was, which presages its status in the year to come.

The financial crisis has catapulted China to the world's center stage and, with that, relatively changed the power structure. On the one hand, China is integrating more rapidly into the world. On the other hand, it seems the world is turning its back on the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that many countries are enjoying the benefits flowing from China's emergence as an economic powerhouse. However, it has not prevented them from asking for more by citing the perceived obligations of a "responsible power."

Holding the world's largest foreign exchange reserves and being the top creditor of the United States, that truth of China's "other half" is conveniently ignored. Few are moved by the fact that the country is burdened with internal poverty, the awesome task of alleviating deprivation and remedying uneven development.

The abundant supply of durable and inexpensive Made-in-China products has greatly helped its trade partners weather the economic crisis and avoid the devastating effects of inflation. Yet China is blamed for "unfair competition" and is confronted with protectionism everywhere.

When the country sets out for the resources it requires and business deals to sustain growth – which benefits host and partner as well – it is given the cold shoulder; or depicted as a hungry giant on the prowl grabbing everything.

As the "World's Factory," China has to keep meeting the development target of feeding its entire population. At the same time, it is expected to help stabilize the global economy.

Its emissions-cutting target, a result of exhaustive consultation between the central government and the respective ministries, and complained about by local authorities, was easily brushed aside during the Copenhagen conference.

And, lest we forget, the military parade on the occasion of China's 60th National Day – an event that gladdened the hearts of the whole country – was seen as muscle flexing.

When A(H1N1) virus sweeps the world, the country haunted by its memory of SARs six years ago finds that the strengthened preventive measures are mocked as an overreaction and painted as discriminatory.

The list goes on.

That is the harsh reality facing China today. No matter how hard it tries to rise to the occasion, meet demands here and expectations there, it always comes up against an unsatisfied demand, a festering grievance in some part of the world.

As 2009 fades to make way for 2010, China should brace itself for its destined role in the new brave world.

It should exude a new confidence rooted in the conviction that "The best is yet to come."