A Chinese diplomat has said that China will be forced to assume leadership role in the world if the US President Donald Trump steps back. The statement comes after Trump pledged to put "America first" in his first speech. 

"If anyone were to say China is playing a leadership role in the world I would say it's not China rushing to the front but rather the front runners have stepped back leaving the place to China," Zhang Jun, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"If China is required to play that leadership role then China will assume its responsibilities. We still hope that the United States and other Western economies can continue to make an even bigger contribution to the world economic recovery. We've heard Trump announce that the United States will achieve four percent growth and we're very happy about that," he added.