China's Soft Power Diplomacy: Myth or Reality? examines the Chinese version of soft power both in conceptual and operational terms, and explores its myriad implications for India, in particular, and South Asia in general. The book investigates how the institutionalization of cultural soft power would help China project its image as a benign and responsible stakeholder in order to reshape the current international system with its notion of “harmonious world order,” based on Chinese characteristics. This book traces the origin of China’s engagement with South Asian states from historical, political, economic, and security perspectives in order to better understand the dynamics of its South Asia policy. It illuminates the core reasons to explain why China’s soft power initiatives in South Asia are least appealing and convincing to India while they are welcomed by smaller nations of the region. More pertinently, the book addresses complexities and nuances of China’s soft power instruments given the psycho-cultural and geopsychological peculiarities of the South Asian region. For this, it focuses on how the Sino-Pakistan axis constitutes a potential challenge to India’s leadership role and influence in South Asia.  

". . . . this is a very strong book, whose hedging is really an attempt to grasp the nuance of China’s soft power activities. Besides being extremely valuable simply for chronicling China’s bilateral relations with South Asian countries, the book adds greatly to the Chinese soft power literature by bringing into focus a region that will likely play an important role in China’s foreign policy for a long time to come." - Pacific Affairs

"In short, this work is a beneficial and accessible addition to the growing debate not only regarding China’s more confident cross-regional diplomacy in South Asia but also in contributing to the issue of whether soft power is playing a role in Beijing’s interests there. The book draws on many regional and as well as international sources to make its case, and those interested in both Chinese and South Asian foreign policy and strategy will find this book a necessary read given current events and ongoing questions about where the Xi government is heading in the increasingly pivotal Indian Ocean region." - China Quarterly