Basketball star Yao Ming, movie director John Woo and piano prodigy Lang Lang are among dozens of celebrities who will appear in television commercials later this year in a bid by China to boost its image abroad.

It was in the book of Exodus, in the King James Version of the Bible, that Moses first called himself a “stranger in a strange land.” From then on up through Robert A. Heinlein’s 1961 novel of the same phrase, the “stranger in a strange land” genre has been (and remains) a staple of song, film, and literature. It seems that a sense of cultural disconnect has long plagued – and fascinated – humankind.

As global framing contests go, one of the most spectacular is the transnational effort to define proper regulation of the Internet (and in the process characterize China’s information policy).

As global framing contests go, one of the most spectacular is the transnational effort to define proper regulation of the Internet (and in the process characterize China’s information policy). In June, China’s State Information Office issued a White Paper on the Internet.

We may soon all become as familiar with the Chinese voice as we are with CNN and BBC. Last month one of China's largest state owned media, Xinhua News Agency, launched a 24-hour global English TV News channel. It's the strongest sign yet of China's determination to push its soft power and increase its influence worldwide.

On July 29, at the launch of the TV docu-mentary series Walk into Israel-The Land of Milk and Honey, around 450 people enjoyed a virtual tour of Israel to experience the art, music, history and faith of its people. "The documentary series is a window which shows the miracle that is Israel to the Chinese," said Le Qiliang, a Chinese audience member.

"Once one starts listing the examples of Japanese culture infiltrating the United States, it's pretty hard to stop," wrote Entrepreneur.com's Laura Tiffany in 2008... Of the ten bestselling graphic novels in US bookstores in November that year, six were Japanese...

China may have no intentions of using its growing military might, but that is of little comfort for Western countries. From the World Trade Organization to the United Nations, Beijing is happy to use its soft power to get what it wants -- and it is wrong-footing the West at every turn.