The Indian media is trying to treat China at par with Pakistan over the recent provocations over the border. "Why don't we warn China?" or "India should take a tough stand" are some of the questions being raised by some belligerent mediapersons, but this is a kind of oversimplifying foreign policy issues, something which an important country like India has not prioritised on expected lines.

Yet China’s economic power and the many positive ways its economy influences the region have not brought diplomatic advantage. Indeed, its regional relations are in a worse state than for two decades. With Japan they remain so fraught over the contested Diaoyu/Senkaku islands that armed conflict is a serious possibility.

The Korean dumplings in your grocer's freezer, the new Thai restaurant on the corner and that Burmese curry you ate for lunch are doing more than satisfying your craving for an exotic and flavorful meal. These foods are also helping to foster international relations.

The Korean dumplings in your grocer's freezer, the new Thai restaurant on the corner and that Burmese curry you ate for lunch are doing more than satisfying your craving for an exotic and flavorful meal. These foods are also helping to foster international relations. A new diplomacy program -- called gastrodiplomacy -- is giving food a seat at the negotiating table.

Philip Seib is the director of the Center for Public Diplomacy and spoke to PM from Los Angeles. PHILIP SEIB: He realises that the more Westerners, particularly Americans, who go to study in China, the greater the trade relationship between the two countries will be, but also the more stable the relationship will be. And stability is a good thing in diplomacy and in international economics.

From a foreigner`s view, Korea is a very impressive country. In just 50 years or so, Korea overcame the disasters of war and division of two Koreas through utmost effort and sacrifice, and became the world`s seventh largest exporter. The country exhibited an unprecedented pace of economic growth as exemplified by the "Miracle of Han River," the story of which is much touted among foreigners.

So what can $300 million buy you in China? Perhaps, the Chinese version of the Rhodes Scholarship. That's what the Chinese and American private equity mogul Stephen Schwarzman are hoping. The Blackstone Group founder is doling out $100 million of his own money and raising another $200 million to set up an international scholarship program at elite Tsinghua University in Beijing. Alumni include business leaders as well asa China's president, Xi Jinping.