Japanese Foreign Minister Genba Koichiro set off to visit Britain, France and Germany on Oct. 15, 2012. It is said that he will elaborate on Japan's attitude and stance and seek "understanding" from the international community on the Diaoyu Islands issue during the visit since he believes that the three countries exert great influence on world opinions. This is merely a part of Japan's moves to launch public opinions against China on the Diaoyu Islands issue.

Literary watchers in China say awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature to Chinese novelist Mo Yan will generate greater interest and spur the development of literature in the country. Channel NewsAsia explains why the win is even a source of soft power for the country.

ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and South Korea) youth leaders'symposium was held on Thursday, aiming at strengthening and broadening friendly relations between the two sides. Addressing the two-day meeting, Pit Chamnan, secretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, praised the close cooperation between ASEAN and Plus 3 countries.

Pakistan and China Wednesday signed two agreements for cooperation in the economic, technological and cultural sectors. The first agreement “Economic and Technological Cooperation between Pakistan and China for a grant of 70 million RMB” was signed by Acting Secretary Economic Affairs Division Iftikhar Ahmad Rao and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zeng Wei.

Taiwan will continue to expand its exchanges with China in a wide range of areas, including culture, Taiwan's chief negotiator with China, Lin Join-sane, said in Beijing yesterday. Making the remarks during a visit to Beijing's Palace Museum, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman said his trip is part of the government's efforts to deepen cultural exchanges with China.

Chinese views on US-China relations have declined sharply in the last two years, a new study has found. Only 39% of people said they would call the relationship co-operative, down from 68% in 2010, a Pew report said. Many Chinese people, especially the young, urban and well-educated, said they admired elements of US soft power, such as science and technology.

Knock-offs aside, a bigger reason for China’s lack of a “Gangnam style” hit is the pervasive censorship apparatus that keep tight control on print, radio, TV and live music performances. Censorship is even tighter than usual this month, ahead of China’s leadership transition in early November. As Chinese pundits study for lessons about soft power, that’s one theme that they dare not write about.

In a visit aimed at consolidating and deepening China’s diplomatic, economic and "soft power" presence in South Asia, a top Chinese official will visit Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives in a three-nation tour starting on Wednesday.