In terms of perceptions, many international publics believe the global economic balance of power has swung sharply towards the country. It has exposed the country to greater foreign scrutiny for which it has generally been ill-prepared. This has exposed a growing "soft-power deficit" which is complicating China's rise to power.

China's female acrobatic pilots Yu Xu, Tao Jiali, Sheng Yifei, He Xiaoli have left for Malaysia on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, where they will be performing at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) next week.

A Pew Poll conducted last year found that that only 28% of Americans believe that their “country stands above all others.” This is down 10 percentage points from just three years earlier.

Now more nations rely on their soft power to find diplomatic solutions. When it comes to this, films, especially commercial films, are some of the best choices around. 

The consequences of China’s continued strong growth, and prolonged economic weakness in much of the west, have been more than financial. In terms of perceptions, many international publics believe the global economic balance of power has swung sharply toward the country.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Culture, the Chinese government invested about 1.33 billion yuan ($214 million) by the end of 2014 to build overseas China Cultural Centers and is expected to add another 360 million yuan for developing and running the institutes in 2015. That’s up 181 percent from last year!

Opinion polls tell us that almost half of the British public would like the Crown to skip a generation and pass straight the Duke of Cambridge. In China this week, it felt as though it already had.