While the first minister was on a mission to China to promote trade and cultural links, that country's consul general highlighted the importance of foreign language assistants in acting as a "bridge of cultural exchanges".
Their dream was to establish a small inn and cultural center where visitors might experience China as it was before the onslaught of industrialization and tourism.
With his "Kung Fu Panda" movies, Jeffrey Katzenberg offered American audiences a cuddly Chinese icon to love, and won the hearts of China's cultural czars, who are eager to soften the country's image in the world.
The classic philanthropy model (the super rich who devote the rest of their lives to the effective distribution and use of their wealth to alleviate societal ills) is still a long way away for China as it needs to overcome the lack of religious, cultural and historical precedents to philanthropy that is so evident in western countries.