When Kate Middleton and Prince William went to Poland and Germany, they were sent there on a Brexit “charm offensive” to help ease the tensions as Great Britain begins negotiations to exit the EU. The couple did more than charm the locals. They created magic.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Chinese city of Dalian this week for the so-called Summer Davos comes at a time when China is assuming a greater global profile. [...] This week’s forum is not the first time this year that China has used the WEF to position itself positively on the world stage.

Project Mausam is Prime Minister Modi’s answer to China’s charm offensive.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has been a rising star in the arena of public diplomacy. Its PD campaign, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, involves fourteen separate Departments, including the United Front Work Department, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture, and the General Administration of Press and Publication.

The time seemed right to most observers, the place not entirely thought out. Why would the sitting, though troubled, prime minister of a country visit another sitting, but less troubled, premier of another country at a city other than the capital?

The Philippines and Japan’s charm offensives towards China appear to have failed as Beijing seeks to isolate both powers within the region. In recent weeks both the Philippines and Japan have made a number of overtures to China aimed at mending strained bilateral ties. Just this week, for instance, the chief of staff of the Philippine military, Emmanuel Bautista, pledged that his country would continue its no-confrontation doctrine in the South China Sea, while also saying that it would consider allowing Chinese naval ships to use the Subic port.

On Monday, the Sino-Myanmar natural gas pipeline began pumping to China, part of the Middle Kingdom’s drive to diversify its energy supplies, but, in light of recent diplomatic troubles, China is quick to shine a rosy light on this latest development. The Chinese state media charm offensive went into full swing. Xinhua described the opening ceremony as follows: "When torches flamed in the sky of Namkham Measuring Station of the Myanmar-China Gas Pipeline, a storm of applause and cheers broke out."

Assessing China's "charm offensive."