Soft Power and Hard State: China on the Global Stage

China’s soft power is apparent in areas of its religion, traditional culture, universities, mandarin as lingua franca, media, tourism, sports, Chinese Diaspora and China's political/cultural presence in South East Asia and Africa. The Chinese policy makers have emphasized the peaceful nature of China’s rise by offering free aid and infrastructural development to developing nations, respecting the sovereignty of others, opposition to superpower hegemony, advocacy of level playing field in interstate relations and focus on multiculturalism. China is now taking good steps for its projection of cultural power and influence beyond its borders. It is found that the movement of intense cultural and intellectual engagement between multiple actors inside and outside the country is to make others understand what China is and what the world really means to China. China insists “Harmony is most precious”. It lays stress on international cooperation while addressing the issue. The objective of this paper is to justify how China is great in the eyes of the world due to its attractive political values, cultural attractiveness and governance model. China’s participation in the UN Peace keeping activities is an important arm of public diplomacy to project China as a responsible power. China applies its heart and soul to peace keeping activities with a desire to become a responsible global player. The peaceful rise of China helps to dispel the doubts of other nations regarding its rise as a threat. The main intention of this paper is to evaluate the projection of China’s soft power on the basis of its culture, political values, and foreign policies along with formidable challenges ahead.