The French and Germans do more on public diplomacy in Asia. We do not have consulates across China and India and Indonesia, as we should have. We do not even have an embassy in Mongolia.

China continues its 'soft power' diplomatic efforts to expand its influence around the globe with the establishment of ever-more Confucius institutes at universities around the world and, recently, the spread of an offshoot aimed at schools called the Confucius Classroom scheme.

China's global soft power push is being refined through forays into Australia during the Year of Chinese Culture here. Ten writers recently came from China under the new format via the Chinese Writers Association, a government organisation, for a four-day conference with Australian counterparts.

Australia is the only country known to put such public diplomacy services out to tender. An independent panel of senior public servants charged to judge the two bids had recommended the contract go to Sky News, only for the government to make a late intervention in the tender process.

With the emergence of a Chinese middle class, and the increasing liberalisation of public expression in various parts of South East Asia, we find ourselves entering into an era of what could, and should, be increasing cultural exchange with our immediate neighbourhood.

Taiwan's soft power in the cultural and creative industry was the highlight of the presentation. A magic balloon man impressed the audience by quickly twisting balloons into a kangaroo, the icon of the outback, Taipei 101, the world's tallest green building in Taipei, an American cartoon character.

There is general agreement the core role of public diplomacy is to further foreign policy and to promote our national interests. The need to sustain a vibrant international education sector is clearly in our national interest.

Australia operates in a vacuum in international education and public diplomacy. But in their recent paper, Bond University researchers argue for more active public diplomacy leadership, improved evaluation and expanded dialogue within the sector and broader community. Such strategies would maximise the soft-power potential of Australia's international education and contribute to our future international positioning.