Beijing’s soft power drive to win African hearts through cinema was on display recently in Bujumbura, where Chinese dragon and lion dances merged with sacred Burundian drums to open Chinese Film Week. The Chinese embassy in Bujumbura, the economic capital of Burundi, said the July 15 event offered “a beautiful example of cultural exchanges between the two countries” and that both sides were determined to “make cinema a vehicle for Sino-Burundian friendship”. Zhu Kewei, China’s ambassador to the...
Leader known as Qatar's father emir was able to redefine his nation's position on the political map of the Middle East.
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. Here, Khushboo Razdan looks at how books shape public perceptions and inspire lifelong connections between the US and China even as their geopolitical rivalry intensifies. Alexander Boyd was 14 when a book about China altered the course...
Beijing has staged a special screening of a blockbuster film that sparked a debate about propaganda in Southeast Asia for 150 foreign diplomats and their families to help them “better understand China”. Diplomats from 74 embassies, including Indonesia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Peru, attended Monday’s screening of the film Dear You, which was organised by the Chinese foreign ministry. The movie was shot in the Teochew dialect spoken in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong province and...