As the Year of Chinese Culture in Turkey is being held in 2012 and the Year of Turkish Culture in China will be held next year, Hu suggested that both sides take this opportunity to boost bilateral people-to-people exchanges and enhance bilateral traditional friendship through cultural activities.

China’s government has identified animation as a key area for development to boost the country’s global influence, or soft power. The success of DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda” franchise has sparked wide debate within China about why the country can’t leverage its culture as effectively as Hollywood.

On education, Patrick said, “Brazil has an initiative to fund the overseas science and technology instruction of 100,000 Brazilian students and we’d like to get as many here in Massachusetts as possible.”...During his last visit, Patrick was involved in launching an academic exchange program with Brazilian faculty and students involving several Massachusetts universities.

The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council (OCAO) will cooperate with foreign education authorities to position Chinese-language education as a mainstream education choice abroad, said Li Haifeng, the OCAO director, at a meeting attended by overseas Chinese social organizations from across the world.

China's booming film industry is attracting interest from Hollywood heavyweights, as they chase bigger box-office returns to offset tighter margins at home...Films with Asian and especially Chinese themes are becoming more prominent after Hollywood hit a 16-year low in movie ticket sales last year, while some of its biggest studios are setting up shop in the country.

Forty years ago this month, Maryland began its engagement with China by becoming the site of an iconic exchange in sports diplomacy, a groundbreaking ping-pong match between China and the U.S...The University of Maryland's role in the celebrated milestone of "ping pong diplomacy" signaled the state's early emergence as a pioneer in the promotion of burgeoning U.S.-China ties.

On April 6, Under Secretary Tara Sonenshine welcomed Special Presidential Representative Mikhail Shvydkoy at the State Department to discuss future plans for collaboration in the areas of education, media, sports and professional exchanges.