& nbsp; "Outlook" article: Pioneering a New Situation in Public Diplomacy Six months ago, “Public Diplomacy Division” was upgraded to “Public Diplomacy Office,” a few characters change, showing an important direction of development in China's diplomatic work. Wei Xin Counselor’s current title is Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department "Public Diplomacy Office." Just six months ago, her department was called the "Public Diplomacy Division." From "Public Diplomacy Division" to "Public Diplomacy Office," these few character changes indicate an important new direction in Chinese diplomacy - public diplomacy. "Now all levels of leadership within the ministry have a strong sense of public diplomacy. As the 'vanguard' of the ministry's public diplomacy efforts, we are increasingly getting more 'opportunities' to work overtime." During the forty minutes Wei Xin spoke with our magazine reporter, she could not "focus" as she received eight work-related phone calls. & nbsp; The daily work of the Public Diplomacy Office includes: hosting large-scale public diplomacy events 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 the Foreign Ministry's internal departments 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 various embassies and consulates abroad; conducting public diplomacy research, etc. "Our personnel has increased from the original eleven or twelve to now sixteen or seventeen, but the workload has doubled," she said. The New "Main Battlefield" of Diplomacy in the Internet Era Public diplomacy refers to a new form of diplomacy led by the government, aimed at society at large, using communication and exchange as primary means, with the fundamental goal of enhancing national soft power and maintaining/promoting national interests. In the context of an increasingly "flat" world where interdependence among nations is becoming closer, public diplomacy, relative to traditional government diplomacy, has become the "main battlefield" for governments to enhance soft power and expand influence. The United States and European Western countries are pioneers in public diplomacy practices. The U.S. established the United States Information Agency (USIA) in 1953, elevating public diplomacy to an important component of national diplomatic strategy. The U.S. spends as much as $1 billion annually on public diplomacy. France has long promoted French culture, language, and ideas globally through its advocacy of what it proudly considers "French culture". Japan has also invested substantial resources into public diplomacy. According to incomplete statistics, in recent years, public diplomacy expenses account for over 10% of Japan's diplomatic budget. Some smaller countries are also actively promoting public diplomacy, such as Norway's annual Nobel Peace Prize evaluation and awarding ceremony. These public diplomacy measures have, to some extent, helped these countries enhance their international status and establish considerable recognition and goodwill among foreign populations. After 30 years of reform and opening up, China has gradually moved to the center stage of the world. Currently, every year, there are 12 million people traveling abroad (with 46 million outbound travelers), and 24 million foreigners coming to China. With China's comprehensive national strength and influence continuously increasing, and ties with the external world becoming increasingly close, the international community focuses on China, and domestic public attention and participation in diplomacy reach unprecedented levels. It can be said that today, what happens in China often becomes a global event, easily becoming the focus of world public opinion. Due to various historical and realistic reasons, the Western public still has varying degrees of misunderstanding, lack of understanding, mistrust, and even opposing voices regarding China. Faced with these phenomena, China strives 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 development. At the same time, it is necessary to let the Chinese public correctly and rationally recognize the development stage and international environment in which China finds itself, cultivating an open, inclusive, peaceful, and rational national mindset. Therefore, successfully conducting public diplomacy directly relates to China's international image. According to our magazine's understanding, making efforts so that China "has greater political influence, economic competitiveness, more likable image, and moral appeal" is an objective requirement to improve China's diplomatic layout under new circumstances. Meanwhile, continuously advancing public diplomacy is also a necessary requirement to practice the Chinese government's people-oriented governance philosophy and build a harmonious society, as well as 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 take action themselves. During visits abroad, they use various forms such as speeches, media interviews, press conferences, and exchanges with local citizens to clearly and concisely explain the Chinese government's position and propositions on major issues, enhancing the international community's understanding of China's major strategic thoughts like peaceful development, mutually beneficial win-win cooperation, and a harmonious world. Chinese diplomacy is standing at a new historical starting point, shouldering new era missions, and entering a new stage of development. As Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi stated: public diplomacy is now "timely, appropriate, and full of potential." "The Diplomatic Flagship" Progresses in Exploration "Public diplomacy is a concept originating from the West. We need to continuously develop our own theory while learning and drawing lessons from others. Although the theoretical system is not yet complete, we must act now and explore while practicing," Wei Xin said. As the "flagship" of China's overall diplomatic work, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with other ministries, closely centered around themes such as the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, 60 years of Chinese diplomacy, major domestic and international diplomatic activities, and responses to the international financial crisis and climate change, liberated thinking, pioneered, and actively explored new ideas and methods in public diplomacy, promoting it across multiple layers, fields, and dimensions. Actively innovating working models, using major diplomatic activities such as the G20 Leaders Financial Summit and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference as platforms, setting up China Delegation News Centers, inviting Chinese officials, experts, non-governmental organization representatives, and entrepreneurs to engage in lively interactions and exchanges with the media and the public, proactively promoting the Chinese government's policies and responding to various concerns. As the main authority handling foreign journalist affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fully played a guiding and coordinating role, cooperating with various departments and regions to comprehensively implement the "Regulations on Foreign Permanent News Agencies and Foreign Journalists," engaging in more interactions and exchanges with foreign journalists. In addition to nearly one hundred regular press conferences 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 the People's Republic of China and the opening of the Shanghai World Expo, the Ministry broke conventions twice by inviting one hundred journalists from developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to report on relevant activities in China, enhancing the understanding and friendship of the broad masses of developing countries towards China. Strengthening the construction of public diplomacy mechanisms, in addition to establishing the "Public Diplomacy Office," a public diplomacy coordination mechanism was also built to strengthen overall planning and promote communication and exchanges with relevant institutions. Chinese overseas diplomatic institutions also actively conducted public diplomacy. Ambassadors and senior diplomats enhanced communication and exchanges with local people through delivering speeches, publishing articles in mainstream media, giving interviews, attending seminars, etc., building trust and explaining China's achievements and policy positions. Various missions also successfully hosted large-scale public diplomacy activities such as "Open Days" for embassies and consulates, China Forums, China-themed seminars, photo exhibitions, film receptions, as well as Chinese Culture Festivals, Film Festivals, artistic performances, and youth exchanges, continuously creating waves of perceiving and understanding China in local societies. "Now, the requirements for diplomats are getting higher. They need to be able to write and speak well, analyze policies, and also interpret them," Wei Xin said. For current ambassadors, counselors, and other mid-to-senior level diplomats, the Ministry requires them to more actively conduct public diplomacy, delivering more speeches and accepting media interviews targeting the general public in their host countries. Newly appointed ambassadors and counselors receive training in public diplomacy capabilities before taking office, 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 actually existed for a long time in China. The Sino-U.S. "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" is one of its exemplary cases. The Beijing Olympics two years ago and the ongoing Shanghai Expo both belong to large-scale public diplomacy. The Ministry of Culture's "Happy Spring Festival," the State Council Information Office's "Perceive China," the Confucius Institutes run by the Hanban, and related activities conducted by the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference all fall under the category 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 cooperation. This is the starting point and endpoint of China's public diplomacy, representing its greatest advantage and the biggest guarantee for 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 pioneer a new situation in China's public diplomacy, gradually forming a model led by the government with multi-party participation, creating an all-round, multi-level, wide-ranging pattern, promoting communication, understanding, and mutual trust between China and the rest of the world. This benefits not only China but also aligns with the interests of the entire world." "Outlook" article: From Beijing Olympics to 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 foreign heads of state and government either attended the Expo opening ceremony or presided over the opening ceremonies of their respective pavilions, an unprecedented number of guests, making "Expo Diplomacy" highly noteworthy. The Shanghai Expo is not only a grand event in the fields of world economy, society, technology, and humanities, but also an unprecedented global diplomatic extravaganza. The Shanghai "Expo Diplomacy" is also the largest scale new attempt at public diplomacy to date. With massive media attention and tens of millions of visitors experiencing the exhibition on-site, China and the world achieve "zero distance." Within the 5.28 square kilometer area of the Shanghai Expo Park, 189 countries and 57 international organizations are gathered, vividly forming a "global village." Here, a more authentic 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 Shanghai residents. Volunteers dressed in green clothing can be seen everywhere on the streets, ready to offer services, and "everyone is a host" has become the heartfelt sentiment of ordinary people. The International NGO Cooperation Promotion Association of China also jointly initiated the "Green Travel to See the Expo" campaign with the American 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 civilian organizations adds a new channel, playing a beneficial role in feedback information. The Expo promotes exchanges and cooperation among civilian organizations on the international stage, achieving a win-win result. Several interviewed experts pointed out that whether it is the Beijing Olympics or the Shanghai Expo, both are products of China's national strength development and are also advantageous opportunities for China to expand public diplomacy and enhance its national image. However, since China's public diplomacy started late, to fully play the role of public diplomacy, efforts need to be made in the following aspects: Firstly, the whole society's understanding of public diplomacy needs to be improved, 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 uniformly, establish a unified public diplomacy leadership institution, or create a large-scale diplomatic mechanism, integrating the forces of various domestic departments, regions, and fields, optimizing public diplomacy resources, and collaboratively conducting public diplomacy. Creating more space for participation by civilian groups and social organizations, strengthening the construction of foundations, think tanks, and NGOs, supporting and helping them participate in international dialogues and exchanges. Increasing investment in public diplomacy, the government should allocate a certain percentage of funds from the diplomatic budget specifically for public diplomacy. Develop research plans, expand research teams, solidifying 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 nationwide consciousness. Humbly learn, boldly draw lessons from advanced concepts and successful experiences abroad, actively exploring new ways of public diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.