Mr Blair's elite audience also watched a video message from Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist co-founder of Microsoft. Neither man appears to have been aware that the event, last November, was a "soft power" exercise approved at top levels in the PLA.

“This centre would promote Trinidad and Tobago’s creative industries through cultural exchanges, training seminars and cultural exhibitions in China. The Centre could also feature highly in Trinidad and Tobago’s public diplomacy initiatives in Asia. During our discussions we also suggested that China and Trinidad and Tobago could co-host an annual Caribbean Music Festival in Beijing, which could become a signature event for promoting Asian/Caribbean Cultural Exchanges.”

In a 2008 report titled Repack­aging Confucius: PRC Public Policy and the Rise of Soft Power, by the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stock­holm the C.I. was described as “an image management project, the purpose of which is to promote the greatness of Chinese culture while at the same time counterattacking public opinion which maintains the presence of a ‘China threat’ in the international community.”

The idea was that China's south-west region, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India's Northeast and eastern region, might explore prospects for working together, using emerging new transport linkages as a platform for stronger trade, socio-cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Academics and scholars were invited to discuss this concept, and sensitise their governments, business entities and social organisations to the possibilities.

The 2006 Beijing action plan provided the first attempt to create institutional-level collaboration through the establishment of Confucius Institutes, although these are also largely organised at the intergovernmental level as part of China’s global ‘soft power’.

Cyber security is set to be discussed for the first time at a meeting of NATO defence ministers next week.The Pentagon chief said Washington would press Beijing using both public diplomacy and private talks.

In the race to be the world’s dominant economy, Americans have at least one clear advantage over the Chinese. We’re much better at branding. American companies have these eccentric failed novelists and personally difficult visionary founders who are fantastic at creating brands that consumers around the world flock to and will pay extra for.