The 21st Francophonie Festival is going to launch in more than 200 cities across China in March. A variety of cultural events featuring French music, films, literature, sports, gastronomy and art will show the French language and culture.

Xi Jinping is the gift that keeps on giving.[...] This past week, the government released two policies (or re-released depending on your perspective): first, no foreign entity can independently publish anything online in China, and second, all the work of the Party’s media must protect and act on behalf of the Party.

Beijing's Capital Museum is expanding its exchanges with other countries as part of the city's renewed focus on building a national cultural centre. [...] In the two years since President Xi Jinping visited the museum and decreed that preservation of China's cultural industry should be one of Beijing's key roles, the museum has been working to set an example for the city's arts institutions.

China’s diplomacy has truly gone global. Over the past forty years China has traveled a path from a nation isolated from the international community to one integrated into it. Today, Beijing enjoys diplomatic relations with 175 countries, is a member of more than 150 international organizations and is party to more than three hundred multilateral treaties. 
 

Xi [Jinping] became the top leader in late 2012, the new policy removes any doubt that in the view of the president and party chief, the media should be first and foremost a party mouthpiece. Mr. Xi wants to push the party’s message domestically — and internationally — across all media platforms, including advertising and entertainment […] Mr. Xi also wants to curb the presence of foreign media companies.

Blocked by Beijing from maintaining diplomatic ties with most of the world and barred from many global organisations, Taiwan is turning to museum diplomacy to boost its international standing and highlight its history as a regional entrepôt rather than a province of China.