Crossword Genius

Land punch smack in the middle (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

china

'land' is the definition.
(I know that China is a Asian country)

'punch smack in the middle' is the wordplay.
'punch' becomes 'chin' (slang term meaning to punch someone on the chin).
'in the middle' says to take the centre.
The centre of 'smack' is 'a'.
'chin'+'a'='CHINA'

(Other definitions for china that I've seen before include "Londoner's friend" , "Friend (rhyming slang)" , "foreign country" , "Dresden, perhaps" , "Beijing's country" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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