According to the analysts and diplomats at the table, China's influence is based on cooperation, development and mutual interests. China's 'soft power' (a term that is not popular in Beijing) is its ability to let countries develop at their own rate.

China is considering to set up a special fund to finance arts creation and cultural performances in the latest move to buoy the development of the country's "soft power," a cultural official said Sunday.

China is propelling cultural industry as pillar of its national economy by holding a grand summit of the National Festival here in Chinese People’s Political and Consultative Auditorium, said an official on Saturday.

Wang Guoqing, vice-minister of State Council Information Office (SCIO), led a panel discussion of public diplomacy...To help foreign countries improve the understanding of China, the Chinese government is making great efforts to enhance its public diplomacy skills...

To build itself into a cultural power, China faces the urgent task of safeguarding its "cultural security", strengthening its soft power and boosting the international influence of its culture.

China is expanding its presence on U.S. campuses, seeking to promote its culture and history and meet a growing global demand to learn its language.

An interesting blog post from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy discusses Creative Learning, an organization that encourages Americans to become “unofficial Ambassadors” to different Islamic nations. Another blog...demonstrates the impact social media can have on public diplomacy and how the use of the internet makes public diplomacy very effective in its distribution.

Dozens of doctors and nurses fanned out from a Chinese navy hospital ship to treat poor Jamaicans as part of a global humanitarian mission to portray China’s rapidly growing military as a responsible power. The aim of the operation...is to soften the image of China’s 2.3 million-member military and boost its ties with other nations’ armed forces.