China not yet getting its message across

During the past three decades China has made great advances in public diplomacy and it is emerging as a vital tool for the country. Obvious highlights are the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai Expo. But the financial crisis in Europe and the United States means there is a need for urgency in boosting China's public diplomacy.

The economic weakness of Europe and the US greatly increases the risk that their populations will take a negative view of China as they struggle with unemployment and economic austerity.

There are plenty of signs such negative views are rising. As an example, a book is being published in the US later this month entitled: Red Alert: How China's Growing Prosperity Threatens the American Way of Life and the BBC is causing a great deal of concern in China with its television coverage about China in Africa. This kind of negative coverage is certain to continue as China reaches more and more into the world.