Washington and Beijing are now battling over soft power. Hillary Clinton’s visit in December to Myanmar, which China views as being within its orbit of influence, is a fascinating footnote. As China tries to extend its sway in Asia, the U.S. must realize that its own regional ambitions need some polishing, too.

Confucius institutes are part of a global campaign, funded by Beijing, to promote Chinese language and culture. However, the involvement of the Chinese one-party state, and its soft power ambitions, have generated some opposition. The siting of these centres in universities and public schools also makes them contentious.

Shanghai is sparing no effort to develop itself as a center for international finance, economic activity, trade and logistics in China. According to the latest report, The International Image of Shanghai, among its four goals, the position of Shanghai as an international financial center was best known by foreigners.

The Chinese government is encouraging domestic publishers of foreign-language periodicals to target the overseas market as part of the country's strategy to boost its media presence abroad, a major step to build China into a big player in the world media and publication market and make the cultural sector a pillar industry in the country.

For me, in the flood of news a headline bears special importance for Northeast Asia security. The guideline reiterated by President Hu Jintao about boosting the "cultural soft power" of China recognizes that "culture has increasingly become a major element bringing together the people and the creative power of Chinese nationality".

Beijing isn't satisfied simply with controlling domestic TV news and the Internet. It wants to control the Chinese cultural diet. And the appetite goes outside China's borders, as well. Beijing wants more "soft power."

...western media have taken Hu’s remarks as a sign China’s rulers are principally concerned with the corrosive influence of western soft power, Pirates of the Caribbean outshining the state-backed Founding of a Republic.

The U.S. force size in Asia-Pacific will increase...not to prepare for some Cold War-style showdown with a rising China... Obama seems to mean it when he talks about America's "Pacific Century," and putting a military presence there is a great way to extend U.S. hard as well as soft power.