More than media needed to boost soft power

President Xi Jinping's recent visit to China's three major media outlets has drawn wide attention. While most of Xi's remarks at People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television were media relations, it was interesting to see him repeat his views on how the media, old and new, can help build China's soft power.

China has been trying to expand its soft power, spending billions of dollars in the process. It has invested huge amounts in many media outlets to intensify innovation, and the improvements are obvious. The 24-hour CCTV America with its excellent production values and the wide availability of an editorially improved China Daily abroad are excellent examples. Of course, these costly innovations are necessary, but they are far from sufficient, because building a country's soft power is hard and expensive work.

The most recent publicity endeavor being touted is the latest in a series of jaunty videos in nine languages on the "Four Comprehensives" distributed by Xinhua. The entire series is well done, fun and informative.