Hollywood triumphed in China this summer afterTransformers: Age of Extinction broke all previous box office records there, selling over $300 million worth of tickets against a $244 million U.S. take. But jubilation over the film's Chinese success has been dampened somewhat by jeers from major news outlets in the West that Transformers 4 was yet another example of Hollywood's selling out to China. Critics of the film point to its numerous Chinese product placements, generously featured Chinese landmarks, cameos by Chinese pop stars, and a pro-Chinese-government message.

If it wants to strengthen its presence in the international community and adequately inform a wider audience abroad about itself, Japan should strategically strengthen its public relations overseas and promote cultural exchanges with other nations. In its budgetary request for fiscal 2015, the Foreign Ministry has requested about 50 billion yen (about $475 million) for a new key budgetary item called "strategic proliferation of information abroad."

The Dalai Lama is losing friends all over the place as the world undergoes a geopolitical realignment. The Dalai Lama used to be the guy everyone wanted at their party. But since China's emergence as an economic superpower, he's become an awkward guest to invite. Around the world, governments are limiting their contact with him — in some cases because of direct pressure by China, and in other cases, because of the chilling effect that pressure creates.

China’s biggest online travel agency is offering a 30% discount on trips to Thailand’s beaches and malls. The Chinese aren’t buying it.  "Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are traditionally the favourite tourism route for the Chinese," said Jiang Haibin, a public affairs manager at Ctrip.com International Ltd. "This year, that route was affected a lot."

As a shy, nervous 22-year-old NBA rookie, Yao Ming confronted the concentrated power of Shaquille O’Neal for the first time — and came out a winner.  The metaphors are perhaps too easy: basketball’s gentle giant aiming to save Africa’s gentle giants; the man who built a bridge between China and the United States now trying to bridge another vast cultural divide, between his nation’s nouveau riche and the people and animals of Africa.

Authorities haven't given a reason for those moves. But they come as Chinese leaders try to tighten regulation of information circulating via chat apps and on Internet sites. As well, China is seeking to build its own culture of television, movies and animation to counter what it sees as the soft-power influence of the U.S. In a government report released in March, Chinese government planners called on officials to "quicken development of public cultural undertakings including the press and publishing, radio and television, and literature and art as well as the culture industry."

China's cultural scene has certainly flourished in recent years from art, to music and, of course, museums. Curator Cheng Guoqin says part of the reason the government supports the opening of new museums is that it improves the country's image. "The government has realized that economic success is not enough," she says. "It realizes that soft power and the creative industries must play an important role."

Cultural cooperation and exchanges between China and the US will play an increasingly important role in facilitating better understanding and fostering friendship between people in the two counties.  The first thing on the to-do list for members of China's culture industry who want to tap into the US market should be to really understand the needs and wants of US audiences and adjust their works accordingly.