Beijing needs to find ways to close its soft-power deficit

London

FRIDAY, Dec 9, marks the 15th anniversary of China's landmark accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the decade and a half since that date in 2001, much has changed in the global landscape, and China's rise to greater prominence has been one of the defining features of this period.

On the financial front, for instance, data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2014 has shown that the Chinese economy is now larger than its US counterpart on a purchasing-power-parity basis, which makes adjustments for the fact that goods are cheaper in China and other countries relative to the United States.