It may take a few years before the Chinese fully understand soft power. Soft power, as a concept, has been widely discussed in China, the understanding of which mainly comes from the explanation of the man who first outlined it, American scholar Joseph Nye, and observations of US soft power. But China may adopt a different means to developing soft power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia 2013 in the coastal town of Boao, in China's Hainan Province. President Xi expressed his wish to work with regional leaders to build a better future for Asia and the world.

Now that the dust has settled on President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated trip to Israel, it is possible to analyse the significance of the visit. The trip — the first foreign visit of his second term — carries important implications for US foreign policy. Rather than providing the breakthrough for which many had hoped, it demonstrated that Obama — unlike other second-term US presidents, who have staked their legacies on foreign policy — is interested primarily in securing a domestic legacy.

In spite of September’s deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that claimed the lives of an ambassador and three others, the U.S. Foreign Service has more applicants than ever.

Experts said China and Zambia are expanding the scope of their cooperation and their ties are a symbol of the deepening win-win cooperation between China and Africa. Sata is among the more than 10 foreign leaders in China to visit the new leaders and attend the Boao Forum for Asia in Boao, Hainan province. Meeting with Xi in the coastal city of Sanya, the Zambian president said China's development provides important opportunities for Zambia and Africa.

Now that the dust has settled on President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated trip to Israel, it is possible to analyse the significance of the visit. The trip – the first foreign visit of his second term – carries important implications for US foreign policy. Rather than providing the breakthrough for which many had hoped, it demonstrated that Obama – unlike other second-term US presidents, who have staked their legacies on foreign policy – is interested primarily in securing a domestic legacy.

China is earnestly striving to become a respected world power, one that finally surpasses the United States. The day could come when its economy, even its military, is larger than America's. But its biggest problem right now, one that's much harder to correct, is the nation's “soft power.” China appears to have very few true friends in the world.

For decades, presidential elections in Latin America have often involved that well-known fixture in the cable news landscape of the United States: the American political consultant. But in a development reflecting the waning clout of one powerful nation in the hemisphere and the rising influence of another, Brazilian political consultants have begun to compete handily with their American counterparts, orchestrating campaigns throughout Latin America and beyond.