& nbsp; Outlook article: Opening up a new situation in public diplomacy Six months ago, the "Public Diplomacy Division" was upgraded to the "Public Diplomacy Office", and the change of a few words shows an important direction of development for China's diplomatic work - public diplomacy. Wei Xin, counselor, now holds the title of "Director of the Public Diplomacy Office" under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Information. Just six months ago, the department she was in charge of was called the "Public Diplomacy Division". The upgrade from "Public Diplomacy Division" to "Public Diplomacy Office" reflects an important direction of development for China's diplomatic work - public diplomacy. "Now all levels of leadership within the ministry have strong public diplomacy awareness. As the 'vanguard' of the ministry in this area, our 'opportunities' to work overtime are increasing." During the 40 minutes Wei Xin was interviewed by our magazine reporter, she could not "concentrate" because she received as many as eight working phone calls. & nbsp; The daily work of the Public Diplomacy Office includes: hosting large-scale public diplomacy activities such as the Foreign Ministry's Open Day for the public; introducing China's foreign policy and stance on international hotspot issues to domestic media; coordinating public diplomacy work between units within the Foreign Ministry and between the Foreign Ministry and other ministries; being responsible for the construction of the Foreign Ministry's public information website and its 204 sub-sites, managing the diplomatic forum; coordinating and guiding the public diplomacy work of embassies and consulates abroad; conducting public diplomacy research, etc. "Our personnel has increased, from the original eleven or twelve to the current sixteen or seventeen, but the workload has doubled," she said. The new "main battlefield" of diplomacy in the Internet era Public diplomacy is a new form of diplomacy led by the government and aimed at the general public, with communication and exchange as its main means, and enhancing national soft power and maintaining and promoting national interests as its fundamental goal. In the context of an increasingly "flat" world where interdependence among nations is becoming closer, public diplomacy, which is relative to traditional government diplomacy, has become the "main battlefield" for governments around the world to enhance their soft power and expand their influence. The United States and European Western countries are pioneers in the practice of public diplomacy. In 1953, the United States established the United States Information Agency, elevating public diplomacy to an important component of the country's diplomatic strategy. The United States spends as much as $1 billion annually on public diplomacy. France has long been promoting its proud French culture, spreading the French language and French ideas worldwide. Japan also invests substantial resources in public diplomacy. According to incomplete statistics, in recent years, public diplomacy expenses account for more than 10% of Japan's diplomatic budget. Some medium and small-sized countries also spare no effort in advancing public diplomacy, such as Norway's annual Nobel Peace Prize evaluation and award ceremony. These public diplomacy measures have, to a certain extent, helped these countries enhance their international status and establish a considerable level of recognition and reputation among foreign people. After 30 years of reform and opening-up, China has gradually moved to the center of the world stage. Currently, there are 12 million people traveling abroad (46 million outbound trips), and 24 million foreigners coming to China each year. With the continuous enhancement of China's comprehensive national strength and influence, and its increasingly close ties with the external world, the international community is focusing on China, and the domestic public's attention to and participation in diplomacy has reached unprecedented levels. It can be said that what happens in China today often becomes a global event and can instantly become a focus of world public opinion. Due to various historical and realistic reasons, Western public still has varying degrees of misunderstanding, distrust, and even opposition towards China. In response to these phenomena, China is making efforts to conduct public diplomacy, allowing the world to understand the real China, including Chinese cultural spirit, socialism with Chinese characteristics, China's domestic and foreign policies, etc., striving for an international public opinion environment favorable to China's construction. At the same time, it is necessary to let the Chinese public correctly and rationally recognize the development stage and international environment China is in, cultivating an open, inclusive, peaceful, and rational national mindset. Therefore, carrying out public diplomacy well directly relates to China's international image. According to our magazine's understanding, striving to make China "more influential politically, more competitive economically, more amicable in image, and more appealing morally" is an objective requirement for improving China's diplomatic layout under the new situation. At the same time, continuously advancing public diplomacy is also a necessary requirement to implement the Chinese government's people-oriented and governance-for-the-people concept and build a harmonious society. It is also an important way to enhance mutual understanding and trust between China and other countries and promote the construction of a harmonious world. China's Party and state leaders attach great importance to public diplomacy and practice it themselves. During visits abroad, they use speeches, media interviews, press conferences, and exchanges with local people to clearly and simply explain China's position and propositions on major issues, enhancing the international community's understanding of China's major strategic thoughts such as peaceful development, mutually beneficial win-win, and a harmonious world. Chinese diplomacy is standing at a new historical starting point, shouldering a new era mission, and entering a new stage of development. As stated by Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China: public diplomacy is now "timely, appropriate, and promising." "The flagship of diplomacy" advancing in exploration "Public diplomacy is a concept that originated in the West, and we need to continuously develop our own theories while learning and drawing lessons from others. Although the theoretical system is not yet very complete, we must act now and explore and practice step by step," Wei Xin said. As the "flagship" of China's overall diplomatic work, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked closely with other ministries in the past year, revolving around themes such as the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China, 60 years of New China's diplomacy, major domestic and international diplomatic activities, and responses to the international financial crisis and climate change. They liberated their thinking, made bold advances, actively explored new ideas and methods in public diplomacy, and promoted public diplomacy in multiple layers, fields, and dimensions. They innovatively adopted new working models, using major diplomatic events such as the G20 Leaders' Financial Summit and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference as platforms. They set up the China Delegation Press Center, inviting Chinese officials, experts, scholars, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and entrepreneurs to engage in lively interactions and exchanges with the media and the public, actively promoting the Chinese government's policies and responding to various concerns. As the principal department overseeing foreign journalist affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fully played its role in guidance and coordination, comprehensively implementing the "Regulations on Foreign Permanent News Agencies and Foreign Journalists." It engaged in more interactions and exchanges with foreign journalists. In addition to nearly 100 regular press conferences held each year, the Ministry organized or assisted in arranging nearly 130 interview activities for foreign journalists, doubling compared to previous years. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the opening of the Shanghai World Expo, the Ministry broke conventions by twice inviting hundreds of journalists from developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to report on relevant events in China, enhancing the understanding and friendship of the masses in these developing countries toward China. Strengthening the mechanism construction of public diplomacy, apart from the "Public Diplomacy Office," a public diplomacy coordination mechanism was also established to strengthen overall planning, promote communication and exchange with related institutions. Chinese overseas diplomatic institutions also actively carried out public diplomacy. Ambassadors and senior diplomats strengthened communication and exchanges with local people through giving speeches, publishing articles in mainstream media, giving interviews, attending seminars, etc., building trust and resolving doubts, promoting China's achievements and policy positions. Various embassies and consulates successfully hosted large-scale public diplomacy activities such as "Open Days" for embassies and consulates, China Forums, China-themed seminars, photo exhibitions, movie receptions, as well as Chinese Culture Festivals, Film Festivals, artistic performances, and youth exchanges, continuously sparking enthusiasm among the local communities to perceive and understand China. "Now the requirements for diplomats are getting higher. They need to be good writers and speakers, able to analyze policies and explain them," Wei Xin said. For serving ambassadors, counselors, and other mid-to-high-level diplomats, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires them to carry out public diplomacy more actively, give more speeches, and accept more media interviews targeting the public in the host countries. Newly appointed ambassadors and counselors also receive training before assuming their posts, focusing on capacity building in public diplomacy, including how to give interviews and deliver speeches. "The Chinese Characteristics" of Public Diplomacy Experts believe that although "public diplomacy" is a relatively new academic term, this form of diplomacy has existed in China for a long time. The "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" between China and the United States is one of its classic examples. The Beijing Olympics two years ago and the ongoing Shanghai World Expo both fall under large-scale public diplomacy. The "Happy Spring Festival" organized by the Ministry of Culture, the "Perception of China" by the State Council Information Office, the Confucius Institutes run by the Hanban, as well as activities conducted by the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, all belong to the scope of public diplomacy. Authoritative figures believe that China's foreign policy is based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, adhering to peaceful development and mutually beneficial win-win outcomes. This is also the starting point and ultimate goal of China's public diplomacy, representing China's greatest advantage and the biggest guarantee for its success. "China's public diplomacy mechanism is still under construction and adjustment. Currently, the main body of public diplomacy is still the government, but the role of the people is increasingly emphasized," Wei Xin said. "We need to strive to open up a new situation in China's public diplomacy, gradually forming a model led by the government with multi-party participation, and a pattern that is all-round, multi-layered, and wide-ranging, promoting communication, understanding, and mutual trust between China and countries around the world. This will benefit not only China but also aligns with the interests of all countries around the world." Outlook article: From the Beijing Olympics to the Shanghai Expo: Outstanding Highlights of Public Diplomacy Following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai Expo, spanning half a year, is becoming another outstanding highlight of China's public diplomacy. Including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, among others, 20 heads of state and government leaders either attended the opening ceremony of the Expo or presided over the opening ceremonies of their respective national pavilions, a rare occurrence in previous editions, making "Expo Diplomacy" highly noteworthy. The Shanghai Expo is not only a grand gathering in the fields of world economy, society, science and technology, and humanities, but also an unprecedented global diplomatic event on a massive scale. The "Shanghai Expo Diplomacy" is also the largest-scale new attempt in public diplomacy to date. Extensive media coverage and millions of visitors experiencing the exhibition on-site bring China and the world into "zero-distance" contact. Within the 5.28 square kilometer area of the Shanghai Expo Park, 189 countries and 57 international organizations gather, vividly forming a "global village." Here, a more genuine China is presented to the world, and a more diverse world is presented to China. The Expo has greatly stimulated the sense of ownership among the residents of Shanghai. Volunteers dressed in green clothes are ready to provide services on the streets, and "everyone is a host" has become the heartfelt sentiment of ordinary citizens. The China International NGO Cooperation Promotion Association also jointly initiated the "Green Travel to See the Expo" campaign with the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund and issued the world's first low-carbon transportation card. Each cardholder will reduce carbon emissions by one ton through the Green Travel Fund. The participation of civil organizations adds a new channel, playing a beneficial role in feedback information. The Expo promotes exchanges and cooperation among civil organizations on the international stage, achieving a win-win result. Multiple interviewed experts pointed out that whether it's the Beijing Olympics or the Shanghai Expo, both are products of China's national strength development and advantageous opportunities for expanding public diplomacy and enhancing national image. However, since China's public diplomacy started late, to fully leverage the role of public diplomacy, efforts need to be made in the following areas: Firstly, the entire society's understanding of public diplomacy needs to be enhanced, incorporating it into the broader framework of national foreign strategies and accordingly formulating China's public diplomacy strategy. As the leading party in public diplomacy, the government must strengthen leadership, coordinate comprehensively, establish a unified public diplomacy leadership institution, or build a grand diplomacy mechanism, integrating forces from various departments, regions, and fields domestically, optimizing public diplomacy resources, and collaboratively conducting public diplomacy. Provide greater participation space for civil groups and social organizations, strengthening the construction of foundations, think tanks, and NGOs, supporting and helping them participate in international dialogues and exchanges. Increase investment in public diplomacy. The government should allocate funds according to a certain proportion from the diplomatic budget specifically for public diplomacy. Develop research plans, expand research teams, and solidify the theoretical foundation of China's public diplomacy work. Strengthen public diplomacy education, widely carry out public diplomacy knowledge education, making public diplomacy gradually become a universal consciousness. Humbly learn and boldly draw lessons from advanced concepts and successful experiences abroad, actively exploring new paths of public diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.