Class act promotes global 'soft power'

BEIJING - The country's top education official hailed the global expansion of Confucius Institutes as an efficient way to promote "soft power" and appeal to more overseas students.

"The language and culture courses provided by the institutes abroad have attracted an increasing number of foreigners to have a real look at today's China," Minister of Education Yuan Guiren told China Daily.

China's long history of civilization, socio-economic development as well as its growing international influence had all combined to attract more foreign students, Yuan said.