Much to be done to promote China's soft power

'If you wanna know what China's gonna do, best pay attention to the Shisanwu (13th Five-Year Plan)" is the chorus of a new video from Xinhua News Agency, which has attracted modest online audiences and mixed reviews worldwide as it attempts to explain in a few minutes in American-accented English with Chinese subtitles the process of enacting China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

Though criticized by some, it's a refreshing step in the right direction compared with earlier efforts. Nevertheless, it's only a drop in the ocean compared with what China needs to do to improve its until-now meager efforts to project its soft power if it is to win hearts and minds abroad.

Described variously as "groovy", "trippy", "bizarre", "crazy", and "like watching 'Play School on acid", the video features the likenesses of, among others, Albert Einstein, David Bowie, a rubber duck, disco balls and department store dummies, as it explains in idealized terms the deliberative process of creating the Shisanwu.