Policy makers in Beijing also want to bolster China’s “soft power” capabilities to extend its cultural influence internationally, and the film industry is considered one of the most promising avenues for doing so.

...state media groups push aggressively into overseas territories, buying or opening radio stations and television channels as Beijing develops its "soft power" policy. ... these foreign ventures are often not huge revenue generators, continuing the decades-long tradition in which party mouthpieces consume government funds in return for projecting a positive image of China and its rulers.

This is about growing Brazil’s soft power on the international scale and raising Brazil’s role in the world,” said Matthew Taylor, a Brazil specialist at the American University’s School of International Service. “Brazil is taking on a bigger role in the hemisphere in terms of aid and finance, and by helping out Cuba they really draw attention to this new role they are playing.”

The Chinese government, determined to build the country’s soft power by projecting a better image abroad through culture and to maintain control at home through censorship, is strongly supporting the local industry and restricting foreign rivals.

“So we are trying to find ways of moving forward in our economic, political and cultural relations,” said del Rosario, who visited Germany early this month. The country’s chief diplomat said Germany is an important trading partner and source of investments of the Philippines...

While it does not glisten, Chinatown is increasingly becoming fashionable, with young Argentines. Some local libraries even offer free Mandarin language classes, financed with Chinese money, as part of the country's quiet "soft power" in the region.

The move is an extension of the Bank of China's 2010 credit program with Hengdian film park, regarded as "China's Hollywood," and has been labelled another important step in financial institutions nurturing China's cultural industry.

India’s trade with Africa was $45 billion in 2010. And while that’s up sharply from $11 billion in 2006, it still trails China’s $119 billion worth of trade with Africa, the country with a 20-year headstart in Africa. It has built highways and railways, bridges and airports and has been savvy at winning African friends through so-called soft power.