Covering at least 1.5 billion people across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan, SAARC is one of the largest regional organizations in the world. But its achievements so far have been so minimal that even its constituents have become lackadaisical in their attitudes toward it.

A photo exhibition called "Charming Beijing" was held in Bangalore, the capital of southern India's Karnataka state on Sunday to observe the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India.

The idea of a China model can also be seen as a projection of "soft power"— achieving co-option and attraction based on values, culture and institutions. The 2008 Beijing Olympics and the current Shanghai World Expo are examples of projecting soft power.

Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt seems more interested in keeping the peace with China than with Apple Inc. and other rivals in the rapidly growing smart phone market. At least that's how it sounded Thursday during Google's annual shareholder meeting, where Schmidt spoke with a diplomat's restraint while discussing the Internet search leader's tenuous position in China.

This century has witnessed China's emergence as the main challenger to the superpower status of the United States. In dramatic fashion, China is beginning to establish its foothold in the highly strategic, energy-rich region of the Middle East by forging strong ties with regional powers and gradually challenging US-Israel regional dominance.

Qatari Culture Minister Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari said Thursday the Gulf Arab emirate is willing to enhance cultural exchange and cooperation with China as part of the efforts to promote bilateral relations...He expressed the hope that with efforts from both sides, the exchanges and cooperation in the cultural field will be injected new momentum, which will in turn facilitate the all-round cooperation between the two countries.

According to Media Tenor, a Zurich-based research institute, like other recent world expositions, Expo Shanghai only received scant attention in the international media prior to its grand opening on May 1. This is hardly surprising. The Expo, as it is currently conceived and presented, is simply not a media magnet to start with.

The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum will open Thursday in China’s northern port city Tianjin. Under the theme "deepen comprehensive cooperation to achieve common development," the gathering is widely expected to further promote bilateral ties.