Long, hard look at China's soft power

China needs to understand more about its own identity and values in order to develop effective soft power abroad, says Michael Barr, lecturer in international politics at Newcastle University, England.

Barr, who wrote the 2011 book Who's Afraid of China? The Challenges of Chinese Soft Power, says a key challenge to Chinese soft power lies in the discrepancy between the traditional Chinese values it promotes and modern values emerging from its society.

"Because the Chinese identity is changing, China is having a hard time deciding what is the positive contribution of Chinese soft power," Barr says.