While China’s presence and influence in Africa is well documented – especially regarding resource extraction – another element is increasingly becoming an important economic and political tool: traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese involvement in Africa has long included a prominent medical presence, with Beijing supporting medical efforts on the continent for decades. As China’s export capacity increased in the late 1990s and early 2000s

A major overhaul atop U.S. federal radio and television broadcasting entities could be on the way. An amendment to a defense spending bill that passed Congress would change the leadership of those broadcasts by placing the five broadcast networks under the control of a CEO with expanded powers who is appointed by the president and requires U.S. Senate confirmation.

Efforts to leverage Qatar’s 2022 World Cup hosting rights to create the soft power the Gulf state needs to punch above its weight and ensure a sympathetic hearing in the international community in times of emergency operate on the Leninist principle of two steps forward, one step backwards.

Little more than a week after Donald Trump’s victory, Xi Jinping, president of the world’s second-largest economy, set off for Latin America clutching a sheaf of trade deals [...] But at a time when the image of the big, bad yanqui seems to be making a comeback, Mr Xi may find himself with an opportunity to boost Chinese influence in the American backyard.

Nations can and should nurture their brands much as consumer products and other companies do, a bevy of speakers said Friday at the Wharton Nation Brand 2016 conference. [...] Countries have branding as part of their DNA, panelists said, pointing to Germany's reputation as a powerhouse of skilled engineering, France's reputation as a haven of culture and Brazil's fame as a place of soccer, beaches and fun.

The soccer soft power contrast between Qatar and Iceland speaks volumes. A comparison of the strategies of both countries demonstrates that it takes more than money to leverage soccer to create political, geopolitical and economic opportunity. Money and world soccer body FIFA’s desire to take one of the world’s foremost sporting events beyond Europe and the Americas helped Qatar win the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

Britain is currently a highly influential actor in the international development system, due to a combination of its financial clout and soft power, which enables influence without resorting to force or money. The UK has been one of the most important donors to multilateral initiatives such as the World Bank’s International Development Association and the EU’s European Development Fund. 

China has launched a program to promote stories of well-behaved outbound Chinese tourists in an effort to improve overseas images of Chinese world travelers. [...] China's tourism industry, which has seen rapid growth, has become an influencing force in the world. [...] "The behavior of Chinese [outbound] tourists is one of the important parameters to gauge the national soft power," ​