To be sure, the arrival in Scotland of Tian Tian and Yang Guang has been accompanied by a flurry of diplomatic activity. But underlying these friendly overtures is the stark truth that China's panda diplomacy just isn't what it used to be.

Last month, the mayor announced that Los Angeles is grooming and recruiting students for a new program launched by President Obama called the 100,000 Strong Initiative. Being in Beijing on Monday, the mayor boasted of his plans to increase the number of American students studying in China the next four years.

America’s stock has depreciated the most in the arena of moral power, which stems from the natural attraction of an entity’s cultural, political and economic prowess that encourages others to voluntarily follow it. As the world discovers America’s gridlocked and money-dominated political system, its ecologically damaging, and crisis-prone economic system, it is fast losing its appeal as the country to emulate.

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.I.am is doing his part to contribute to United States-China relations as he travels to Beijing this week for a concert designed to further the two countries' cultural diplomacy. The dialogue and concert is designed to raise money to support APSA in funding study abroad programs for underprivileged American students.

When the United States Africa Command – AFRICOM – was created in 2007 and was formally activated the following year, many considered it to be the epitome of “smart power” – a carefully blended mix of hard and soft powder.  Like other U.S. military commands, it would possess formidable combat capability, but its signature ingredient was a soft power component. 

The Obama Administration defends the human rights of LGBT people as part of our comprehensive human rights policy and as a priority of our foreign policy. In Washington, we have created a task force at the State Department to support and coordinate this work. And in the coming months, we will provide every embassy with a toolkit to help improve their efforts.

U.S. Embassies worldwide are declaring support for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people through innovative public diplomacy. The Department uses its full range of diplomatic and development tools to press for the elimination of violence and discrimination against LGBT people worldwide.

As the J-1 program brings over 100,000 young people coming to the U.S. annually, it has become as much about money as cultural understanding. The reforms by State Department would limit and refine the types of jobs students can have and ensure that the objective of the program — positive exposure to the United States — is accomplished.