China is considering to set up a special fund to finance arts creation and cultural performances in the latest move to buoy the development of the country's "soft power," a cultural official said. China's top leadership has recently attached greater importance to improving the country's cultural soft power after decades of economic growth.

Xinhua remains a mouthpiece for the Communist Party. Its news stories and commentaries rarely stray from the party line...It doesn’t bode well for China’s efforts abroad that the country remains among the harshest censors of news and most aggressive in harassing journalists, both domestic and foreign.

Each time China is castigated by the international human rights community, or criticized by the Western media, the country’s leaders feel that global public opinion is stacked against them. Western culture and values have gone global in a way that Chinese culture and values have not, and Beijing wants to do something about this.

Last week, People’s Daily ran a commentary that called for the state to build up publishing houses into companies with international brands so their books can help spread “socialist core values.” And some officials ache for a mainland Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

According to the analysts and diplomats at the table, China's influence is based on cooperation, development and mutual interests. China's 'soft power' (a term that is not popular in Beijing) is its ability to let countries develop at their own rate.

China is considering to set up a special fund to finance arts creation and cultural performances in the latest move to buoy the development of the country's "soft power," a cultural official said Sunday.

The much touted soft power of India has once again taken a beating, with even bbc reporting the incident and the Internet buzzing with discussions regarding the cancelled show. Indian musicians and promoters are afraid that this might scare away global artists from coming to India.

China is propelling cultural industry as pillar of its national economy by holding a grand summit of the National Festival here in Chinese People’s Political and Consultative Auditorium, said an official on Saturday.