THERE ARE SOME rather remarkable aspects of the increasingly heated debate about China’s influence in Australia. First, the idea that China actually has any “soft power” to exert is actually rather surprising. Soft power, after all, is something that has generally been associated with our cousins in the U.S. — not “Communist China”.

The French have charcuterie, the Spanish embutidos and the Italians affettati misti. But we don’t yet seem to have a name for a uniquely Irish selection of cured meats. That might have to change, as there has been a big increase in interest in producing salami and air-dried meats here.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra​ Modi​ is a big fan of yoga. He calls it "India's gift to the world" and recommends people make yoga as much a part of daily life as their mobile phone. But yoga is also a key asset in Modi's push to promote and develop India's soft power....

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pushed Buddhism diplomacy during his recent trip to Hanoi. India had announced special annual scholarships for Vietnamese students in advanced Buddhist studies at Masters/Doctoral level and scholarships of a year for study of Sanskrit at Indian institutes for Buddhist Sangha members.  

China had earned a great deal of soft power by hosting the high-level summit. Soft power, or the non-military influence that a country and its culture can have around the globe, has been a matter of focus in certain sections of the Chinese foreign policy establishment.