Australian animals have long been dispatched internationally as a form of diplomacy. In the past two years however, it has been koalas, rather than the platypi, who have shot to international notice as key Australian contenders in political power plays. 

How can a million people be made to feel welcome as our guests? How can Palmyra be saved? How should the world see Germany? The right approach to cultural policy can give answers, says DW's Gero Schliess.

Soft power has become strategically important for China and is regarded an important component of its “comprehensive national power” , a measure of its own national power.

“When MasterChef kicked off here in India, there were some ­racial issues with people getting beaten up, taxi drivers and all the rest of it,” Mehigan said while signing plates. [...] when MasterChef started, it all turned around. It’s what embassy people call “soft diplomacy”...

China Daily's deputy editor-in-chief Kang Bing said Fairfax Media's presence in both Australia and New Zealand "means the influence of China Daily will be spread to cover the two most important countries in Oceania", adding that China's "soft power could drive the wheel of its friendship with Australia and New Zealand", according to quotes carried by the Chinese newspaper.

Though both sides indulged in diplomatic nice ties regarding the non-confrontational nature of the collaboration, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inviting other countries to join in developing the port, Islamabad’s precarious economy can hardly permit such participation. 

The Chinese government is keen to build up its “soft power” to compete against the globally dominant cultural exports of the US. But there’s just one problem. After years of trying, China has yet to develop its own popular versions of Mickey Mouse, the Marvel Comics heroes and the other globally-known characters and products that allow Disney to market “Disneyland” as an immersive, universal experience.

The celebrations that took place last week on the sixty fifth anniversary of the establishment of Pakistan-Chinese relationship were again marked by lack of events that signified Chinese soft power.