Over the past few decades of China’s rise, Beijing’s soft power pitch to the developing east has been an indictment of Ugly Americanism. China had fallen victim to Western and Japanese imperialism, and as a result pledged to act not as a patron but a partner in decolonialism and development. 

The new sanctions target North Korea's hard currency revenues by placing a "hard, binding cap" on coal exports, cutting them by at least 62 percent, capping them at around $400 million or 7.5 million tons, diplomats said. According to the Global Trade Atlas, China is on track to import nearly $1 billion worth of coal from North Korea in 2016 despite a previous sanctions regime.

Sitting on both ends of Asia, China and Turkey have voiced their readiness to revive the ancient Silk Road, along which the links are expected to extend from China to Central Asia and the Middle East, and then on to Europe via Turkey. In China, President Xi Jinping put forth the Belt and Road initiative three years ago, seeking to connect trading partners along the ancient Silk Road through land and sea routes.

A senior South Korean diplomat voiced concerns on Monday over Beijing's restrictions on Korean entertainers' performances in China, the foreign ministry here said as the countries remain at odds over Seoul's plans to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system.

For over a decade, South Korean businessmen and officials have regularly met with representatives of the Maghreb and most developed countries in Central Africa. [...] Furthermore, the author stressed the role of "soft power" in Seoul’s presence in Africa.  "South Korea is a recognized international power. It wants to have an international policy adequate to this status," Dayez-Burgeon noted.

Health officials from across China visited the University of Birmingham to learn more about how British medical staff deliver healthcare to patients. A group of 25 senior officials from departments at the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and other medical institutions across 10 provinces and cities travelled to the University. Their visit was part of a project supported by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office that gave health professionals the opportunity to learn about the UK’s system of healthcare delivery.

Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel here Friday to set up a high-level cultural exchange mechanism at the earliest possible date. [...] Establishing such a mechanism will promote the Sino-German exchanges and cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and sports, she added.