Mountains out of Molehills
There were reports last week about a declassified CSIS report, which indicated China has been increasing its soft power initiatives. Articles appeared in a number of news sources. Unfortunately they were overly alarmist in their approach to this relatively non-notable situation. Most countries want soft power. An emergent China shouldn't be any different in this regard. The fact that the PRC funds their Confucius Institutes is news worthy, but not deserving of the alarmist tones it has generated recently.
Link: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/05/28/4215201-cp.html