President Xi, who has said achieving the "great revival of the Chinese nation" is the goal of his administration, is expected to pursue wealth- and military-building policies over his two five-year terms, aiming to transform China into a superpower on par with the United States. Backed by a strong military, China has been striving to become a "great maritime power." It is quite clear that the country will continue its hard-line stance against Japan, Vietnam, and other neighbors in the East and South China seas.

After nearly four years of often testy relations with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama is about to try a different tack - going over the head of Israel's prime minister and appealing directly to the Israeli people.

If South Korea resorts to force to unify the peninsula, the region would be trapped in long-term chaos, as happened in the Middle East. A turbulent Korean Peninsula is harmful to China and the Northeast Asia. Both China and South Korea could be victims. The cost of abandoning North Korea is much higher than that of protecting it. China's strategic considerations should be aimed at maintaining the stability of the Korean Peninsula.

What is the State Department's strategy to counter China's use of soft power around the world? Host Carol Castiel and VOA State Department Correspondent Scott Stearns interview Tara Sonenshine, the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. In a wide-ranging interview, Sonenshine speaks about the role of public diplomacy and what the U.S. is doing to compete with China's growing soft power, particularly in Africa.

Thrown around in the Under Secretary's talk on America's public diplomacy abroad were commonly coined phrases like "return on investment" and "networks of good will."...Simply put, my problem is that we don't really live out public diplomacy here at home. I'm as proud an American citizen as anyone else but I do think how we define that citizenship requires reassessment. It is not OK that our country is present in so many places around the world and yet our people are turned inwards.

An exhibit, ’Celebrating Female Leadership within the International Staff at NATO’ was unveiled on International Women’s Day on 8 March at NATO Headquarters. The aim was to create greater awareness and to demonstrate NATO’s commitment to gender diversity.

In the run-up to and aftermath of the Iraq War, favourability toward the US, which had spiked upward after 9/11, went into free-fall in many countries. This and the accompanying rise of anti-Americanism is important because it has undercut US soft power and thereby reduced Washington's ability to promote its interests overseas, and indeed those of its allies.

The Indian film Industry had grown on its own, adopting innovation and creativity at every stage of development. The industry needed to be appreciated for the role played by it over a period of 100 years through the cinematic portrayal of moving images which had contributed to India’s soft power said Manish Tewari, Minister for Information and Broadcasting.