Ghazi Stadium in Kabul... Indeed, for a while it was nothing less than a theater of horrors. But now, thanks to funds that have come from the United States, it’s home to a state-of-the-art artificial pitch that can host all manner of sports.

The West’s Soft Power was presumed to have helped win the Cold War. But there have been few attempts to measure soft power and this is the age of measurement. Now we have a very thought-provoking attempt from the Institute of Government (a private NGO) and Monocle magazine. The full report gives a sound review of soft power theory and the Index used to rank countries.

Under the new situation, public and cultural diplomacy is an important direction for China's diplomacy. We thoroughly implemented the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, actively engaged in public and cultural diplomacy, and vigorously boosted cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

During Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit in mid-January, Hu and his US counterpart Obama made it a priority to promote people-to-people exchanges to develop friendship between the world's two powers, identifying over 40 joint projects in education, science and technology, culture, women's issues, youth and sports.

For the first time, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has launched a cultural events week in a foreign country. It aims to offer a chance for the Lao audience to learn more about the Chinese army's culture and the friendship between the two countries, through paintings, photos and calligraphy exhibitions, art performances and film playing.

India has an oft-overlooked friend – Indonesia. While the two countries have so far had a generally cordial relationship, much remains to be done if Jakarta and New Delhi want to take full advantage of the opportunities available to both. With this in mind, there really needs to be greater interaction between journalists, business partners and scholars of both countries.

The Global Partnership for Education has launched a three-year effort to put 25 million children in the classroom for the first time and train 600 thousand teachers in developing countries. It calls education one of the most important investments a country can make in its people and its future.

Since 2007, Cambodia has seen a rapid increase in cultural investments from China. China’s projection of soft power is generally limited to language training and the marketing of cultural products such as books and movies, and the long-term effect on the foreign policy of recipient countries has yet to be determined.