Putting aside their diplomatic rivalry, Japan and China agreed on Monday to hold joint animation and TV drama festivals to promote grassroots cultural exchange... As a first step, each country will hold a festival or a special week next year to introduce the other's screen offerings, such as animation and TV drama series, the official said.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov met in Ashgabat Wednesday with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie on bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields. Berdymukhamedov spoke highly of his country's relations with China, which he described as a sincere friend and trustworthy partner.

Chinese and Indian presidents Thursday agreed that the two Asian countries should further develop partnership and cooperation for mutual benefits as well as regional and global peace and development. Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Indian counterpart Pratibha Devisingh Patil held talks in Beijing Thursday afternoon.

China is ready to work with Ireland to expand exchanges and cooperation, so to lift the relationship to a new high...Vice Premier Li Keqiang made the remarks here on Wednesday when meeting with visiting Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin... Li said Sino-Irish ties were developing steadily, as the two countries had witnessed close high-level contacts, and sound coordination on critical international and regional issues.

China tried to woo India by playing old Bollywood songs and serving vegetarian food for President Pratibha Devisingh Patil during the state banquet hosted in her honour by her Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao here on Thursday.

Since 2004, Confucius Institutes have spread around the world, with almost 300 now existing in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania, in addition to an online and a radio-based Confucius Institute. Confucius Institutes are a core component of China's soft power strategy, or campaign to increase its influence and accomplish its goals through the appeal of its language and culture.

It was one of the biggest-ever gatherings of cabinet-level American officials in China. Some 200 Americans, including the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and the treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, took part in the “Strategic and Economic Dialogue” on May 24th and 25th. The dialogue was launched in Washington last July as an annual chance to ensure that the wide range of bureaucracies involved in the relationship work in harmony.

The U.S. pavilion finally got built after a determined push by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton..."Establishing an American presence at this Expo worthy of our great country was quite a journey," she told an audience of U.S. corporate sponsors who had ponied up $61 million in a last-minute private fund-raising drive to build the pavilion.Having spent a day talking to Chinese visitors at the U.S. exhibit, I think the journey was worthwhile.