During the past several years, Chinese audiences have flocked to see American movies such as Kung-Fu Panda, much to the alarm of China's political leadership, which has recently made clear that it is not inclined to surrender any terrain on the global cultural battleground.

The “purpose of the concert was to showcase the culture of Turkey while at the same time raise money for earthquake victims. “At the same time, it is also an act of cultural diplomacy... we hope to build bridges by showing the more human side of our identities.”

"Good movie cannot be successfully done in present day Nigeria without informed and selfless co-operation between the corporate world, which constantly stands in need of the best and cost friendly ways to mobilise its top marketing millions, and the idea driven, highly credible world of entertainment.

It is that environment that has seen “political oversight” of U.S. International Broadcasting become “political inference” — something the Broadcasting Board of Governors is powerless to stop since their jobs as well as the USIB budget are dependent on Congressional approval.

More than a thousand young activists were flown here earlier this week for a conference on “the Islamic Awakening,” Tehran’s effort to rebrand the popular Arab uprisings of the past year. But there was a catch. No one was invited from Syria...That inconvenient truth soon marred the whole script.

This week the China-watching twitterverse was surprised to discover that Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, was now tweeting. That the editor of the Global Times, an “angry government mouthpiece” that supports China’s policy of Internet censorship...

In response to all this, some are recommending that China engage in more intensified cultural diplomacy. Indeed, one senior official told me that China should position itself like Germany has in Europe, letting its clout be neutralized by an Asian regional organization.

The survey, co-conducted by the Presidential Council on Nation Branding and Samsung Economic Research Institute, showed that the country’s national brand in image still lags behind substance. But the gap between the two has narrowed...