the word "been" is an indicator of things that have been done in the past. example: I have been to Paris last year.

If you say "I was in China", it tells me that you went to China some time in the past. It does not necessarily relate strongly to the present. "I have been in China and I speak Chinese." The fact that you were in China relates strongly to the present in this sentence, since that is the reason I speak Chinese (badly, by the way). You can also use in the present perfect continuous - something that you started in the past and are doing now: "I have been waiting here for an hour." "I have been going to Beijing University for three years."