Our hyper-connected world has put more power in the hands of individuals and other non-state actors – from NGOs like Greenpeace to transnational terror groups like the so-called Islamic State. Over the past decade, foreign ministries have responded by becoming increasingly sophisticated in their communication strategies. Diplomats need to communicate directly with foreign publics to explain foreign policies, and to mobilize governments and civil society to support their aims.

Two giant panda cubs are being prepared for a new life at a zoo in the Netherlands following a long airplane flight from China. [...] For decades, China gifted friendly nations with its national mascot in what was known as "panda diplomacy." The country more recently has loaned pandas to zoos on commercial terms.

In the last 10 years, in light of China’s rise, the resurgence of Russia on the world stage, and the proliferation of non-state actors in the Middle East, the concept of soft power has taken on renewed significance. Definitions of it abound and expansions of the examples and explanations of its various forms are offered from across the academy. [...] The other major change affecting soft power definitions and policies is technological innovation. 

Head of states might be calling the shots when it comes to politics, however, it’s the first ladies who win the world over with grace and style. As China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan’s impeccable looks stole the spotlight at the much anticipated Xi-Trump summit this week, we take a look at some of the most stylish stateswomen of our times.

China's President Xi Jinping, on the way to his eagerly awaited first encounter with Donald Trump, met his Finnish counterpart in Helsinki Wednesday, extending Beijing's famed "panda diplomacy" to Finland. The two sides agreed to carry out "cooperative panda research" and "make the pandas messengers of friendship between our two countries," Xi said at a joint press conference in Helsinki.

Amongst 1.4 million artifacts and cultural relics meticulously being preserve in the National Museum of China located a stone throwaway from the famous Tiananmen Square in Beijing, are about 340,000 were gathered from Sub-Sahara Africa. By 2015, 7.6 million people had visited the National Museum of China in Beijing to see cultural relics and artifacts from Sub Sahara Africa.