No need to fuss over Confucius Institutes

Perhaps no one will call Goethe Institutes, Alliances Francaises or Cervantes Institutes propaganda vehicles or tools of cultural invasion. So, why all the fuss over China's Confucius Institutes, which share the same goals?

China is not the first to set up such institutes nor does it have a monopoly over overseas cultural promotion.

The first Alliance Francaise was set up in 1883 and has been entrusted with the task of promoting the French language and culture abroad - a task identical with that of Confucius Institutes.