Beijing has long sought to boost its "soft power" abroad, spending billions of yuan on expanding the international presence of its state-run media -- including broadcaster CCTV and official news agency Xinhua -- and through its ubiquitous government-sponsored language centres, known as Confucius Institutes.

Welcome to the world of Qianlong (pronounced Chee-ann-long), China’s longest serving emperor. Qianlong (1711-99), who reigned from 1736 to 1795, is one of the most important figures in Chinese history. And this month he’s coming to Australia.

A collective of musicians from 11 Nile basin countries performed in New York City on Thursday night in a bid to demonstrate the need for cross-border cooperation — and to encourage people in Nile nations to think of themselves as more of a unified entity — as the region inches toward conflict over rights to water from the world’s longest river.

Japan has lost ground to Korea and China in U.S. public perceptions. Here’s what it can do about it.

The UK accounts for roughly one in every seven of the world’s aid dollars. Is this post-colonial guilt or the organic development of a centre of expertise?

The ambassadors of different French speaking nations have hosted an opening reception of Francophonie Festival with an array of cultural events here at Pakistan National Council of the Arts.