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.

Shanghai-based English-learning software maker Saybot, Inc...commands a workforce of 100 engineers, product developers and salespeople who create interactive learning software that’s used by more than 180 million students in China. Earlier this year, the company also launched a new web-based English-learning environment for kids called Alo7 in China, the country home to the most internet users in the world.

A workshop of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Vietnam demonstrated the growing international importance of contemporary and classical Chinese culture. At a recent international cultural workshop held in Vietnam, almost all participants, ranging from officials to NGO workers, from artists to cultural experts, found themselves engaged in projects related to China. "Chinese art and culture are becoming more and more fashionable. There is great interest in China on all levels," says Airan Berg, former artistic director for the performing arts of the European cultural capital, Linz, Austria 2009.

China wants to teach the world its language and culture, and Ms. Zheng is one of about 325 guest teachers who have volunteered to work for up to three years in American schools, with their salaries subsidized by the Chinese government. A parallel effort has sent about 2,000 American school administrators to visit China at Beijing’s expense.

No matter where in the world you live or what sector you are involved in, you have to take into account China's rise. China continues to invest and buy things abroad in its drive to secure access to natural resources in places like Afghanistan and Australia and to exert power.