Ye Qiquan defines an empire as follows: An empire is the leader or guide of a regional (or even global) political order. The empire itself possesses significantly higher overall competitiveness than other neighboring or even global nations. This overall power difference is the fundamental force driving the normal operation of regional and even global order. An empire and its accompanying imperial order are not based on emotional preference or arbitrary choice. They are a result of the overall power difference (the difference in national overall competitiveness). This ‘difference in national overall competitiveness’ can be reflected through a series of calculation equations.