That view was put forward this week by Dr Paola Voci, an Italian-born senior lecturer in the Chinese section of the University of Otago department of languages and cultures.
Soft power aims to influence others rather than to simply win by force, and is partly projected through cultural productions, including films and television programmes.
Dr Voci was the co-ordinator of a day-long seminar on ''Chinese soft power and culture'', which attracted about 40 participants at the university. Prof Geremie Barme, director of the Australian Centre on China in the World, at the Australian National University, Canberra, was among a series of speakers.
Dr Voci said better understanding China, including the complexities of cultural-linked soft power, was partly an issue of ''literacy'' , given China's growing importance in New Zealand and elsewhere.
In the past, the emphasis in China had been on ''hard power'' and on ''strengthening the country's international status by focusing on economic reforms and military force''.
But more recently, the Chinese leadership had openly embraced the idea that soft power needed to become a bigger priority, in order to increase its influence and gain more positive responses from others, she said.
An official ''charm offensive'' has been undertaken, but some overseas critics have continued to take issue with Chinese environmental policies and insufficient democratic freedoms.
