Despite China’s economic progress, the latest developments suggest its leaders still believe that propaganda and censorship are its two main tools of rule. Sadly, such leftist campaigns to curb free speech and the free flow of information will ultimately constrain China’s development, which today depends on technological advancement, creativity and innovation.

Hillary Clinton has hinted that she may expand secondary sanctions on North Korea during her tenure, which would mean punishing Chinese financial institutions, businesses and individuals that transact with any entities or industries that facilitate North Korea’s nuclear [...]  Donald Trump, like everything else that he’s said about foreign policy, has been all over the map...

The Culture City of East Asia 2016, Nara project aims to make autumn a particularly eventful time. “Art Celebration in Nara: Beyond Time and Space” opened in September and runs until Oct. 23 and its lineup of art exhibitions features works by leading contemporary artists from East Asia, India, Iran, Syria and Turkey

Chinese leaders and scholars claim that China’s foreign policy is not to seek control and hegemony, nor to export its model by military means. Instead, it is to accumulate its soft power through trade, investment and cultural exchanges.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras got a special gift from his Chinese hosts during his official visit to China in July: a two-wheeled bicycle. Explaining the symbolic value of the gift, Tsipras said that the bilateral relations are like a two-wheeled vehicle. "One wheel is economic cooperation and the other, cooperation in culture and education. We are the cyclists who will develop our two countries," said Tsipras.

The 1st River Nile Dragon Boat Festival, a unique event ever held in Egypt that combines sport and culture together, kicked off on Saturday. "The event is a new chapter in the Egyptian-Chinese cultural and civilization intermingling," said Atef Abdel Hamid, Governor of Cairo.

Perhaps less apparent is the fact that the multiple dimensions of Beijing’s coercive diplomacy have been complemented by the Communist Party of China’s renewed utilization of people-to-people relations in order to advance political objectives.

Sri Lanka's social and economic relations with the US expanded rapidly in the late 1970s. Hundreds, if not thousands of Sri Lankan students are studying in the US and many Sri Lankan professionals have reached the top of their careers in the US. The number of Sri Lankan doctors listed in the New Jersey telephone directory is staggering.