For a country seeking to promote its own development, enacting a successful long-term development plan is key, regardless of the economic system. Benefiting from its long-term plans, China is gradually growing into a global power.

Among different explanations of why President Xi launched his wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign, securing the ruling legitimacy of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is widely accepted as a major motivation. Interestingly, Xi’s popularity as the party’s leader and the government’s popularity has risen throughout the course of the campaign. Aside from the state-controlled propaganda, another hidden, but crucial, cause for the unmatched popularity of Xi among Chinese people lays in the Chinese culture of admiring upright officials.

Alibaba’s recent “Singles’ Day” extravaganza brought in $25.4 billion, cementing it as the world's biggest shopping event. The Singles’ Day splurge was triple the $5.9bn spent by U.S. shoppers across Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving last year. Why has the relatively new “Singles’ Day” grown to dwarf its American counterparts? The answer lies in China’s burgeoning e-commerce market.

Peng Liyuan has captured the hearts of the Chinese domestic audience as an artist and as a political figure. She is crucial to strengthening the positive image of the Chinese government. But China needs more than just another fashion icon. When conducted by a charismatic figure like Peng Liyuan, promoting female political participation would further elevate China’s soft power.

Chinese Americans are a largely untapped, the Center for American Progress estimates that in less than one generation, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters will constitute fully one-tenth of the electorate. That proportion will be large enough to sway elections.

Yan Xuetong, the father of the “Tsinghua School of Thought,” explains how Politics has defined China’s historical trajectory.

Cultural exchange and Mandarin study do not provide clear-cut answers to the serious policy challenges China and the U.S. face, but my experience studying Mandarin has instilled an abiding sense of curiosity and a commitment to understanding and respect – and that’s a start.

Why do dictators bother paying lip service to democracy?

China’s bargaining power as a trusted and influential player on the global stage remains weak, especially hindered by its track record in dealing with Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Falun Gong. The massive Confucius Institute Project has served as an active medium for cultural diplomacy, behind the front of promoting the Chinese language and cultural dissemination.

Whenever China is faced with a challenge or an obstacle, it overcomes it, and grows stronger in the process.