Chinese President Hu Jintao with President Obama (Creative Commons)

As China prepares to celebrate its New Year this weekend, the country's agents remain hard at work in America.

In Los Angeles, the Chinatown Golden Dragon Parade is one of the many ways China is promoting itself locally, while a national public relations movement continues. The parade Friday highlights the start of the Chinese New Year.

The Confucius Institute at UCLA, and in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, has polarized people. Some view it as a positive way to teach Mandarin and promote the Chinese culture, while others see it as a Chinese-government funded program with motives to push forward China’s “soft power” agenda.

China just began showing a promotional video at New York's Times Square, hoping to ease American’s unease toward the world power. The video will run 300 times a day. Chinese President Hu Jintao also just visited America and met with President Barack Obama.

Without a doubt, China is making a public relations push in America.

Some see it as a positive step forward toward US-China relations. Others see it as a threat.

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