Every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine, a group of people gathers at a park in Tokyo’s bustling Ikebukuro district, where Japanese people studying Chinese and Chinese living in Japan can engage in lively conversation.

Soft power has become strategically important for China and is regarded an important component of its “comprehensive national power” , a measure of its own national power.

In an interview to IANS, Zhao Qizheng, Vice-Chairman of Foreign Affairs of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said Chinese businessmen were “not clear” about rules and business environment in India. [...] Zhao maintained that “public diplomacy” could help both sides understand the issues related to doing business in each other’s countries.

When the Chinese government donated a library to the University of Technology Sydney few people noticed. Only slightly more seemed to care when groups friendly to Beijing began funding think tanks in Australia, making political donations and paying primary schools to run Chinese language programs.

Muhammad Ali, the American three-time world heavyweight boxing champion, whose death at the age of 74 was announced by his family on Saturday, will be remembered as a superstar in the ring – but also as cultural icon who touched the hearts of people around the world – including China. Ali made two important visits to the mainland during this lifetime, which effectively helped to end the Communist Party’s two-decade-long ban on the sport of boxing.

In a tour that includes visits to Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Beijing and Japan, the Philadelphia Orchestra is expanding its connection with the people of China through additional avenues beyond sold-out concerts. More than a tour that focuses exclusively on music, this 2016 tour includes social cross-cultural components as well.

When Duke head coach Robbie Church found out via email in late March that his team had been invited to Beijing for the seventh annual Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, he was not sure the Blue Devils would be able to participate. [...] But with the opportunity to be the first college women's soccer program involved in the conference—which brings political representatives from both countries together—Church quickly realized the chance was too unique to pass up.