Competition over Soft Power
-Entering the 21st century more countries are increasingly placing the emphasis on the projection of benign country images. Such projections are critical not only for building partnerships for strengthening economic cooperation and addressing mutual security concerns but also for gaining access to new markets.
-The ancient Chinese thinkers had also long upheld the motto of "making the people near-by satisfied and the people from afar to join you"(近悅遠來)as the guiding principle of engaging other peoples.
-However, it is only in the recent decade that the concept of "soft power" -- ability to produce outcomes through persuasion and attraction rather than coercion or payment -- has entered into the lexicons of Chinese policy makers.