An English-language editorial in People’s Daily looks at the goals of China’s soft power initiative:
On the one hand, China has been striving to build the Chinese cultural value system and increase its influence in the world, and has achieved remarkable results. For example, the country has established 282 Confucius Institutes and 241 Confucius Classrooms worldwide, a total of 523 located in 87 countries and regions within five years from 2004 to 2009, making Confucius Institutes the bridgehead for teaching Chinese abroad, carrying out exchanges and cooperation in domestic and overseas education, cultural fields, and others. He believes that Confucius Institutes have greatly promoted the globalization of Chinese culture, and have increased the popularity and reputation of China.
Furthermore, China has assumed more international responsibilities, dispatching international search and rescue teams to earthquake-hit Haiti and Chile, assisting the post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan and bringing world peace and hope by engaging in peace-keeping missions. The activities have enhanced worldwide countries’ recognition of China. Meanwhile, China has actively participated in formulating international rules, providing the international community with more public goods such as international rules and solutions. Sponsoring the Boao Forum for Asia and hosting the 6-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue both were the loudest voice made by China on the global stage. When the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit faced the crisis of failure, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put forth an amendment on energy-saving and emissions reduction that has been popular with many country members. This was an excellent illustration of China’s soft power.
