China's 'soft power' blitz no major concern: US study

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Cash-flush China may be winning allies and displacing American influence by ramping up foreign investments and disbursing aid with no strings attached, but a US congressional study says Washington need not lose sleep over it.

Beijing's rising investments on the back of its huge pool of US dollar reserves is not necessarily always popular at home or abroad and accounts for less than one percent of foreign direct investment worldwide, said the Congressional Research Service study.

Furthermore, China's "soft power" achievements using tools such as trade and investment, development and humanitarian aid, cultural influence and travel and tourism are built on a "very narrow base," it said.

And even in those areas, including disaster relief, China's effort and accomplishments "pale beside those of the United States," said the report.

The study, undertaken by a group of China specialists and regional analysts, examined the ...