As Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro grapples with chronic shortages of consumer goods and the world's highest inflation rate at 63 percent, he has turned to China for help.

The China Railway Construction Corporation's eye-popping $12 billion deal to build an 870-mile railroad in Nigeria is the biggest single overseas contract in Chinese history and will boost the country's manufacturing sector just as its overall economy shows some signs of slowing. 

Guests and artists pose for photos at the opening ceremony of the Heavenly Creations - Exhibition on Intangible Culture Heritage of China's Zhejiang Province, in the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society in New Delhi, capital of India, on Nov. 21, 2014. 

China's new leadership has been following a new pattern of diplomacy that features increasing softer elements and a down-to-earth manner. President Xi Jinping's just-concluded trip to Australia serves as a good example. During the state visit, the two Asia-Pacific giants lifted their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and concluded their nine-year-long bilateral free trade talks.

Will the next couple of years be enough to reset US-China ties? An important space for future cooperation is Central Asia. Here Russia and some Israelis too are greatly interested in collaborating with China on a new Silk Road. 

The Chinese media reported yesterday that the pair will perform Little Apple at the American Music Awards this Sunday, along with stars more familiar to Americans, including Mary J. Blige, Fergie, and One Direction. The show could be a breakthrough for the country’s soft-power campaign, an effort by the state-backed entertainment industry to make Chinese culture more popular worldwide. 

In fact it may be that the distinction between "hard" and "soft" power may be morphing into a new concept put forward by Prof Nye, that of "smart power".