Molly Bodurtha, an American high school student, should have gone back home to New Haven, Connecticut, six months ago. But she tried hard to persuade her parents and her home school to allow her to stay longer in China, which has become just like a second home to her.

The purchase might invigorate a campaign by the Chinese government to boost the country’s “soft power,” or cultural influence, in the U.S. and other countries...According to Xinhua, the Party’s Central Committee said “China is facing a difficult task in protecting ‘cultural security’ and feeling the urgency of enhancing its soft power and the international influence of its own culture.”

The Second Nishan Forum on World Civilizations dedicated to promoting cultural diversity and cross-cultural dialogue opened Monday morning in Confucius' birthplace Qufu. With a theme of "Harmony with diversity and the harmonious world: belief, moral values, respect, solidarity," the three-day event has drawn over 90 experts and scholars from more than 20 countries.

A Chinese Disneyland-style amusement park, the Fantawild Theme Park, will be completed and open for business in Esfahan, Iran, by the end of this year. Fantawild Holdings, like Disney, is primarily an animation produce..."These cartoons were both aired at home and exported to other countries," Liu said.

Sierra Leone and the People's Republic of China have embarked on efforts aimed at further strengthening not just people-to-people and government-to-government diplomacy, but to also strengthen the political diplomacy between the two countries.

The priciest public-relations expenditure was the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which by some estimates cost $40 billion. The country has financed roads in Brazil, bridges in Zambia, power grids in Cambodia and mining rigs in Uzbekistan. It established Confucius Institutes for Chinese language and culture on 75 US college campuses. It started CCTV America to raise its profile.

Looking back on the four decades of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Wu said the increasing mutual political trust, fruitful practical cooperation, frequent people-to-people exchanges, along with close communication and cooperation in international and regional affairs have brought concrete benefits to both countries and their peoples.

The general motives behind Chan’s expulsion are quite clear. She recently became well known in China watching circles for filing a series of reports that have been quite critical of China’s handling of a variety of domestic issues...In other words, it’s not surprising that Chan and Al Jazeera were not especially popular with the Chinese leadership.