European connection

Europe has been one of the vocal supporters of the Beijing strategy to boost soft power by expanding its cultural footprint.

"Economic cooperation is not and cannot be the sole dimension of the EU-China relationship. That is why people-to-people contacts have been added to EU-China strategic partnership. Cultural exchanges are at the heart of this new dimension," says European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.

"Both Beijing and Brussels acknowledge the significant role of culture in international relations."

Vassiliou says films, books, music and other cultural products, as well as their creators and performers, play an important role in the way nations perceive themselves and each other in today's interconnected world.

"I am convinced that Europeans and Chinese still know too little about each other," Vassiliou says.

For the cultural expansion strategy, China has chosen the legendary Chinese philosopher Confucius as its brand ambassador. The Beijing-based non-profit Confucius Institutes have emerged as China's most successful global brand for promoting Chinese language and culture.

By the end of last year, there were about 358 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius classrooms in five continents, covering 105 countries and regions, with the number of registered students more than 50 million.

Xu Lin, chief executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, says China's remarkable change has been the catalyst for the sudden global resurgence in Chinese culture and language.

She says that at a time when most of the Western economies are reeling from financial problems, the Chinese growth engine has chugged along relatively smoothly, thereby sparking the curiosity to understand more about China and the Chinese way of thinking.

Confucius thrust

"Foreigners are puzzled by how much China could achieve economically in just 30 years. They are now more than keen to learn Chinese language and culture to get fresh perspectives and know more of the country," Xu says, adding that it has also been the motivator for many nations to set up Confucius Institutes.

"In addition to obtaining language skills, people are also surprised to find that by using Eastern wisdom, many contradictions and conflicts can be solved as Chinese tradition always advocates harmony," Xu says.

"Students taking classes at the Confucius Institutes feel that learning Chinese also increases their future employment opportunities," says Michael Kahn-Ackermann, senior adviser to the Confucius Institute.

But more importantly, the Chinese language and culture training opportunities will help deepen intercultural understandings and thus soften China's image as a threat as it grows stronger both economically and politically.

Confucius Institutes have helped trained more people in Chinese, which experts believe is also conducive to the expansion of other Chinese culture, particularly literature.