The public face of diplomacy was at odds with the harsh criticism in the Chinese media that greeted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her visit to Beijing.

As part of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, two Te Papa exhibitions will be heading to the National Museum of China in November 2012.

The escalating tension is not only increasing the chances of conflict, it is also leading to a hemorrhage of any "soft power" that China previously possessed in the region. Regardless of the intentions of the U.S., it would be wise for Chinese officials to preserve and, if possible, rebuild any form of "soft power" that it can in the Asia Pacific region.

The result, as one Japanese analyst put it, was that “China scored an own goal,” immediately reversing what had been a favourable trend in bilateral relations under the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. More generally, while China spends billions of yuan in efforts to increase its soft power in Asia, its behaviour in the South China Sea contradicts its own message

Even as Defence Minister Liang Guanglie is in India on a five-day visit this week to boost ties, the departure of another top People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General to Southeast Asia has been seen by analysts here as reflecting a new diplomatic push by the Chinese military to address regional concerns.

“Symbolic Meanings: Calligraphy and Paintings by Calligrapher Liang Hong” and “Cross- Cultural Communication with Ethnic Groups Costumes from China” are shows sponsored by the Confucius Institute at Penn State and presented by the Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County.

As China plays an increasingly significant role in the world, its soft power must be attractive both domestically as well as internationally...The Western model has not been able to decisively address these issues; the China model therefore brings hope that we can make progress in conquering these dilemmas.