Money may bring China some friends, but when it comes to playing the sophisticated game of projecting its soft power with nuance and subtlety, while balancing that with defending its national interests, China still has some way to go in mastering that art, wrote the Straits Times’ China Bureau Chief in a commentary. Dr Hoo Tiang Boon of the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said China sees its core interests, such as its territorial integrity or sovereignty, as non-negotiable and therefore justifies harsh language and threats when that “baseline” is touched. The tougher rhetoric also acts as a deterrent to prevent a situation from escalating.