Besides delivering expertise, think tanks are also expected to convey the government's viewpoint to audiences abroad. Experts have become an important part of China's public diplomacy, says the study. It points out that few people inside and outside China have realized the extent to which informal diplomacy and think tanks permeate the Chinese diplomatic structures.

India is considering introducing the teaching of Mandarin in state schools... According to Chinese diplomats, India responded tepidly to a proposal by Beijing to establish Confucius Institutes, which teach Chinese, in the country’s main centres of learning.

Twelve panda lovers from around the world are getting into their new jobs learning how to look after pandas at a world famous conservation centre in China's Sichuan province, before six will finally be chosen to become official 'Panda Ambassadors' - or 'Pambassadors'.

Since that time, the Soviet Union has disappeared, and the U.S.-China relationship has grown from secret shuttle diplomacy to nearly $400 billion a year in trade accompanied by expansive academic, cultural and even military contacts.

This year is the year of the Chinese language in Russia. It is quite natural that numerous events dedicated to the Chinese language and culture inspire the interest of Russians to China. How can you stay indifferent to that country after watching a slide show with beautiful nature, architectural monuments, attending a show of the Chinese circus and getting familiar with Chinese art?

Irked by accusations that it is the new coloniser of Africa, China is looking to use soft power and historical evidence of its ancient links to the continent to justify its economic embrace of Africa.

If competition is healthy—most conservatives believe it is—the challenge presented by China and other nations in the field of public diplomacy ought to be a wakeup call to the U.S. government.

What does a city smell like? How does it feel? Why do we prefer one place and dislike another? These are some of the questions that will be asked to children in a workshop at the innovation stage in the Swedish pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai China. The headline and main subject is ”When people matter”.