Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak went to Japan's disaster-struck region to express their sympathy to residents and to kick off a new period of cooperation in a region beset with both long-playing historical grievances and recent geopolitical squabbling.

"We will reach out to most of Africa that has not been significantly touched by our economic diplomacy in recent decades," the official said. India will announce a joint study group to explore modalities for an FTA with Comesa, which is home to half-a-billion Africans and has an annual trade basket of over $300 billion.

Cabinet ministers of 11 Central and South American nations will arrive in Seoul this week for a two-day investment and trade forum to be held from Wednesday. The business gathering featuring high-profile participants is taking place several months after Seoul unveiled a plan to bolster ties with emerging nations and beef up energy diplomacy.

As Virginia’s economic development mission to Asia winds down, Gov. Bob McDonnell said that the state trade delegation’s gatherings have resulted in about six business agreements, with a particular focus on agricultural exports including some deals with Virginia ports.

The U.S. Travel Associationn, the trade group for the country's travel industry, unveiled a plan Thursday to help get more international travelers to visit the U.S. The association's plan calls on the federal government to overhaul the process to approve visas for foreign visitors.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, visiting China this week, tells China Real Time he is hosting Chinese manufacturers, shippers and other business people at dinners, lunches and wine tastings in hopes of encouraging a brand-name Chinese company to think of “Old Dominion” as its U.S. home.

The world of the Indian diplomat has changed. An important chronicler of this change has been former diplomat Kishan Singh Rana (IFS, 1960), ambassador and high commissioner to many countries and author of many books including Managing Corporate Culture (2000)...

Thanking trade counselors for their devoted efforts that have contributed to the growing of the Turkish economy, Erdoğan said these efforts were helping Turkey emerge as a soft power. “Soft power is now ahead of hard power. A country’s influence is no longer measured with its military power but with its economic and diplomatic power.”