In fact, the China Cultural Center in Benin has designed a variety of classes for Beninese who are particularly enthusiastic about Chinese culture, including teaching them the Chinese language. Since the China Cultural Center opened in 1988 in Cotonou, it has been serving as a platform for the Beninese people and other Africans to deepen their understanding of China.

China’s ruling Communist party has long lamented that its “soft” power falls far short of that of the US. Efforts to improve matters, however, have been hampered by an overeager propaganda agenda. Mr Wang said this would change. “Our country puts too much emphasis on ‘going out’”...The harder you strive to do that, the less you will succeed."

The United States, while maintaining an excellent exchange program, needs to focus more efforts and resources toward empowering young people from the U.S. to not just experience foreign cultures but to engage in dialogue about pressing global issues.

It is important for us to borrow from the rich cultural content of Africa, for us to reposition Africa and ensure that culture is not only a tool of diplomacy, but that we also can deploy it to achieve economic as well as the Millennium Development goals for the continent.

Today, the U.S. Department of State announced it will raise the curtain today, June 19 on its groundbreaking cultural diplomacy initiative, Center Stage, which brings performing artists from Haiti, Indonesia, and Pakistan to the United States to engage American audiences in 60 medium- and small-sized towns and cities.

The world’s media focused on the atrocities of the Syrian conflict prior to Euro 2012 – and how quickly, it would appear, that we have forgotten the suffering of others just because we are watching another TV channel...Could we now be described as being subjects of ‘compassion fatigue’..?

The strength of China's soft power within the emerging world is primarily driven by the growth of its multinational powerhouses, booming tourism and the rapid expansion and ranking of its universities, said the report, with the country ranking first among all emerging economies in these three key aspects.

Confucius Institutes (CIs) and Confucius Classrooms (CCs) have mushroomed in the US since the establishment of the first CI at the University of Maryland in 2004. Currently there are 81 CIs and more than 300 CCs in the US. Since its establishment, the CI-UHM has contributed greatly to the US, both educationally and economically, via academic activities and cultural exchanges.