China's government grasps the importance of cultural ties: it has funded hundreds of Confucius Institutes to teach Chinese and nurture China's soft power.

ECONOMIST: Schumpeter

But China's soft-power push has coincided with an increasingly strong rejection by Chinese leaders of the very notion of universal values.

ECONOMIST: China abroad

The sage's popularity in the West still owes more to Hollywood, source of much American soft power, than China's own efforts.

ECONOMIST: China abroad