Michaelle Jean did a little panda diplomacy yesterday in a bid to seal a deal that would see China send two Giant Pandas to Canada... China sends pandas only to its "friends," [Dr. Ming-Tat Cheung, chairman of the Panda Acquisition Task Force at the Toronto Zoo] said, and its "special friends" get a special price, too.

In one of his most significant policy addresses to date, Ma Ying-jeou, president of Taiwan, hailed his country's new Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China. Signed Tuesday, the ECFA is the most significant manifestation of a thaw in bilateral ties between Taipei and Beijing.

China's official Xinhua news agency launches a global English-language television service today. The new round-the-clock service, dubbed CNC (China Xinhua News Network Corp.) will "present an international vision with a China perspective to global audiences," according to the news agency's president, Li Congjun.

When China designed the 2010 Universal Expo in Shanghai as a showcase for its new public diplomacy, it probably did not envision the exhibition would play a much bigger role as a magnet for recession-hit European businesses.

Along with global initiatives such as development aid and promoting the Chinese language, these scholarships are not simply academic awards but part of a larger strategy by China to cultivate friends abroad and grow its soft power to match its burgeoning military and economic strength.

After reaching a sweeping trade agreement, Taiwan and China face the challenge of persuading the island's 23 million people that Beijing has no ulterior political motives, analysts said.

However, Google said that the subtle change - where users have to actively click on a link to access unfiltered search results rather than being automatically redirected - was "consistent" with its approach not to self-censor search results and was hopeful it would allow it to continue operating in China.