As more profits flow from overseas subsidiaries, a measure of total income earned by a country's citizens and companies worldwide. China's gross national product, or GNP, may eventually outpace its GDP, much like Japan after its asset bubble burst in the 1990s, according to Goldman.

"Perhaps of greatest concern for China is the software used in advanced manufacturing – Western companies control over 70% of the Chinese market for chip design software, for example."

Beijing is fighting to limit the damage from a pattern of price wars and excess capacity across multiple industries.

China has spent two decades building a globe-spanning port network that offers it commercial reach — and potential strategic leverage.

China is more interested in expansionism than solving its own pressing economic and social issues, and Taiwan is determined to defend itself from Chinese aggression, the island's top security official said on Tuesday.

China's economy grew at its slowest pace in a year last quarter, official data showed Monday, as high-ranking leaders kicked off a closely watched meeting in Beijing focused on long-term policy planning.

Fixed-asset investment, which includes real estate, unexpectedly contracted 0.5% in the first nine months of the year as investment into infrastructure and manufacturing slowed.