The "ping-pong diplomacy" was on display again - this time at Beijing's Poly Theater, where players and musicians from both countries gathered on Thursday to perform a show cheering Sino-U.S. exchanges of the early 1970s. 

Karla Cabrera [...] was excited when she came across "Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought," an online course about the Chinese revolutionary leader. But when Cabrera began watching the lectures on a popular online education platform owned and administered by Harvard and MIT [...] each class opened with a patriotic video montage. Talk of Mao's errors was minimal, restricted to the Communist Party line. 

Michelle Obama is not the only first lady who has become adept at using fashion as a form of subtle sartorial outreach to foreign leaders. On Tuesday night in London at the Palace state dinner in honor of President Xi Jinping of China, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge (the British first lady in waiting), demonstrated her own ability to employ dress as a form of diplomacy, wearing a gown by the British designer Jenny Packham — in a bright shade of red, the Chinese national color.

The humble takeaway combo of fish and chips that’s a staple of all things British could become a strategic focus of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s four-day visit to the U.K. Xi hopes to enjoy the calorie-rich meal during a trip that’s set to bring billions in deals and investment for both countries, alongside a drink at a pub with Prime Minister David Cameron, according to an editorial on official broadcaster China Central Television’s website.

China’s journey toward becoming a regional power broker has been different than that of the Anglo-Americans. It has not invaded its neighbors nor erected a massive, region-wide network of subversive NGOs to topple governments under the guise of “popular revolutions.” Instead, it has gained power and influence through economic and industrial power.

The ninth edition of the Delhi International Arts Festival opened with enchanting dance and cultural performances by national and international artistes.  [...] DIAF is seen as India’s signature arts and cultural festival which also provides a significant platform for cultural diplomacy, projecting India as a cultural powerhouse and enhancing diplomatic relations with other countries. 

Piracy, the scourge of Hollywood, may have become one of America's powerful diplomatic tools – is it the new propaganda? [...] "The last thing they think is that it [pirated movies] represents a tool of cultural diplomacy, involving a foreign culture or government, and that its illegality could even make this mainstream fare more alluring than originally planned.”