Having myself fired a few arrows at Dr Singh and the ruling Congress Party last month, I thought I would turn to an area where India is enjoying success: the projection of its soft power abroad. Here, arguably, it is outstripping China, its Asian Century rival.

India must remain the “land of the better story”. As a society with a free press and a thriving mass media, with a people whose creative energies are daily encouraged to express themselves in a variety of appealing ways, India has an extraordinary ability to tell stories that are more persuasive and attractive than those of its rivals.

Inviting young Pacific islanders to a two-week Taiwan study camp is very much in line with President Ma Ying-jeou’s cultural diplomacy started in 2010 to highlight Taiwan’s soft power. This was stated by the Director-General of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Mr James C.K Tien during his remarks to welcome 28 Pacific Islands’ participants that make up Taiwan’s allies from the Pacific at a welcome reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reception hall in Taipei.

Wednesday, Edita Vokral, Ambassador of Switzerland in Haiti, accompanied by Hans Reiser, Deputy Coordinator of the Swiss Cooperation, paid a visit to Jean Mario Dupuy, the Haitian Minister of Culture. During this meeting, the Minister of Culture stressed the importance of culture for the development of Haiti, while touting the depth of the creative imagination of the Haitian people. "Culture is one factor that can contribute effectively to the development of the national economy."

To be a very powerful state in world politics does not make for an easy life. China increasingly realizes the predicaments it faces while its power has been growing rapidly. Indeed, the disturbance of China’s regional diplomacy in recent years suggests that it is encountering daunting challenges on exercising and securing power.

"Every country tries to promote its views using 'soft power' and it's not surprising that China would try to do it as its power increases," he said. "Promoting 'soft power,' even with Hollywood's cooperation, is difficult if a country's policies are too far out of step with prevailing global norms.

China cannot be too deterministic about its practice of "soft power", said the Australian don, who spoke under the Chatham House Rule (a principle that governs the confidentiality of the source of information received at a meeting)... "China defines soft power as though one can assemble it at the border and export it like a box of toys," he added. "That is light years away from Nye's original concept."

Chinese culture enjoys increasing influence in the world. What makes it so attractive? What are the challenges facing it? Over the past eight years, the Confucius Institute has made remarkable achievements in promoting the Chinese culture and language worldwide.