Hard elements of soft power

The United States is not just a super power. It is also a soft-power giant. China is honing its soft power skills and building its soft power resources so that it too could be a soft-power giant.

Soft power is a resource for a state, the key ingredient of which is "magnetism". When cultures (such as Chinese culture, in all its richness and variety) or places (such as Beijing, New York and Paris) are magnetic, there will be a strong demand for cultural products made by them.

Chinese culture and Chinese cities have their own magnetism and the world is awash with Sinophiles. But China competes with other "large owners" of magnetic cultures and places such as the US and Europe to get its cultural products a share of the market.