Beijing sees the Confucius Institutes as a way to promote its own soft power overseas, similar to the British Council or Germany’s Goethe-Institut.  Yet recently, criticism has come hard and fast. 

In truth, the fears about CIA infiltration and those about Japanese cartoon characters are part of the same anxiety: a feeling that China's lack of soft power presents a weak underbelly to the outside world.

Beijing received more than 540,000 tourists in 26 major scenic areas on Wednesday, also the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, up 33 percent year on year, local authorities announced on Thursday.

China’s effort to project soft-power has suffered another serious setback after a second US university in a week announced it would close its on-campus Confucius Institute because of an apparent disagreement over Chinese government controls.

On the surface, the turmoil in Hong Kong is caused by Beijing’s decision regarding general elections. In reality, the deep sources of the conflict are not so different from the recent large-scale outbreaks of social tensions in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan.

Peking University has formed a research center dedicated to national "soft power," aiming to help the government spread Chinese culture and values abroad.  "Cultural soft power is beginning to offer strong support for the rise of China. The country must enhance its cultural strength in order to dominate the global contest for soft power."

A 21-member troupe of Chinese artists from Soochow University in southeastern China's Suzhou City has performed a variety of Chinese arts here and triggered zeal from Cambodian spectators.

A cultural relationship that started in 1999 was celebrated on Thursday night in southwest China.  Montana governor Steve Bullock and Guangxi governor Chen Wu took down the cover of the ceremonial wall of friendship between the two locations.