I’ve been tracking elements of China’s complicated and ambitious policy of expanding its information sphere to a possibly waiting world. In late May, I heard Dr. Hu Zhengrong, one of China’s most distinguished ambassadors to the international academic world, give a talk on this “going out” policy to the International Communications Association in Boston.

No longer does the region assume that peace is a given and Chinese economic growth will not create other problems. Instead, the focus is on managing conflicts and attempting to allay mutual suspicions through dialogue. But it is too late for China to restore the status quo ante...balancing diplomatic necessities with nationalistic impulses is proving difficult.

Africa – once considered the lab for Chinese companies’ reach outside - is being relegated into a destination with too many risk factors. Safer political destinations and countries closer to home are likely to benefit from the shift. The readjustment has been in the works for some time but the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have made those subtle shifts more pronounced.

It's hard to argue that the rise of China, taken on the whole, is anything but good for the global economy. Yet few people see China that way. Instead, they focus on the competition China has created, or the jobs many believe China has “stolen.” However, even those who realize, or even directly benefit from, China's advance still can't but feel uneasy about that advance.

Australia will launch a new initiative to attract more visitors from China, as tourists from the U.S. and Japan stay put in the face of uncertain economies and the strong Aussie dollar. The campaign will focus on collecting research on China's emerging middle class and its main cities.

America’s war on terrorism created a tougher atmosphere for China’s 10 million Muslim Uighurs, most of whom live in western Xinjiang province. The burden of proof is on the Chinese government to convince the international community that it faces the threat of extremism.

U.S. companies' game of catch-up shows the perils of waking up late to the next big frontier market, Africa. The continent's economy is forecast to grow to $2.6 trillion in 2020. While most U.S. companies focused on Asia and Latin America, China was leapfrogging America in Africa.

Whether Volvo’s European chief executive and its new Chinese owner can steer Volvo to success has implications for corporate China's global expansion. Chinese companies have poured billions of dollars into foreign acquisitions - but have had little success managing major consumer brands.