It is by now well-known that the process of globalization, beginning in the 1960s and picking up pace rapidly in the late 20th century, quickly changed the context for international affairs. Globalization produced increased contact among the peoples of the world, a rapid expansion of interdependence among nations, and an explosion of new actors in international affairs.

Taking advantage of activity surrounding the Chinese American Film Festival (Oct. 25-Nov. 30) and American Film Market (Oct. 31-Nov. 7), Asia Society Southern California staged its third U.S.-China Film Summit at UCLA Covel Commons, with three panels of U.S. and Chinese film entrepreneurs in co-production, globalization of talent and investments.

Real ambassadors for China over coming decades will be the Chinese people, says scholar. China foreign policy expert Zhao Minghao believes the current world order is in a "plastic" moment. The research fellow at the China Center for Contemporary World Studies, the Communist Party of China think tank, argues many of today's international institutions emerged in the aftermath of World War II and now need to be reshaped.

In “China Stands Still at the Crossroads”, CMP Director Qian Gang shared his thoughts on the issue of political reform as it was reflected in President Hu Jintao’s political report to the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. But what does Hu’s report have to say about culture (including media), which has had a bigger political profile in China ever since the term “cultural soft power” made its debut in the 2007 political report?

Times are changing and so are the Chinatowns across the world. Starting off as ordinary trading outposts that attempted to satisfy to the culinary needs of overseas Chinese communities, these towns have evolved to become major soft power assets and representative symbols of the modern and resurgent China.

On November 8, Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), delivered his last major speech to the 18th Party Congress in Beijing.

Foreign journalists covering China's party congress were surprised by the fact that one of their number was called to ask a question. That rarely, if ever, happens. Example: "Please tell us, what policies and plans the Chinese government will be implementing in cooperation with Australia?" Behind this soft question, it emerged, was an example of Chinese soft power.

People tend to judge others through the lens of their own social, cultural and political fabrics, often making rash, uninformed conclusions. This is particularly risky when talking about a vast, complex society like China, said a leading China expert. It is undeniable that China’s incoming leader Xi Jinping will face people’s deepening grievances about social inequality, which some argue could precipitate a crisis of the central government’s legitimacy.