( CNN ) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Tokyo on Monday on the first leg of a major week long trip to Asia . Biden lands at a time of significant regional tension following Beijing 's announcement last week of a new `` air defense identification zone '' situated between China and Japan . Since the declaration of the air zone , China has insisted that all aircraft must submit flight plans before entering . The United States has urged calm , and this will be a theme which Biden will emphasize during his visit . The zone includes airspace over islands , known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China , which both countries claim as their own . The dispute over these territories is not new , but has become more salient since the Japanese government decided to nationalize them last year . Since last week , Washington has recommended that U.S. commercial aircraft report their flight plans to Beijing , although U.S. military aircraft continue to operate without notification . Meanwhile , Japan ( which also continues to operate flights in the zone ) announced on Saturday that it has asked the UN organization that oversees civil aviation to examine whether the zone could undermine aviation safety . Tokyo 's ambition here is to bring enhanced international scrutiny to this issue in a bid to undercut Beijing . While air zones of this nature are commonplace across the world -- Japan declared its own exclusion zone , which partially overlaps China 's , in the late 1960s -- there is concern that China has both imposed this measure unilaterally and warned that it will take unspecified `` emergency defensive measures '' if aircraft do not comply with submitting flight plans ( already , it has frayed some nerves by sending fighter jets to investigate U.S. and Japanese aircraft in the zone ) . Whatever Beijing 's motives in declaring the zone , it will add to the growing international tide of suspicion and sometimes even outright hostility as China increasingly asserts its growing power . The central challenge the country faces here is that its soft power -- its ability to win the hearts and minds of other nations and influence their governments through attraction rather than coercion or payment -- has lagged far behind its hard power built on its growing economic and military might . In Japan , for instance , public favorability toward China fell from 34 % to 5 % between 2011 and 2013 , according to Pew Global , largely in response to China 's new international assertiveness . Meanwhile , in the United States public favorability toward China fell to 37 % in 2013 from 51 % in 2011 . Issues such as Beijing 's alleged currency manipulation , the large size of the U.S. trade deficit with China and the large U.S. financial debt held by Beijing , not to mention alleged Chinese cybersecurity attacks on U.S. interests , has taken its toll on U.S. public opinion . With distrust of China growing , many countries in Asia-Pacific are actively strengthening their diplomatic alliances , particularly with Washington , in a bid to balance Beijing 's growing economic and military strength . This is a political headache the new Chinese leadership could do without and it must now think hard about how to enhance the country 's image in the world . Most immediately , Beijing must restart a process of addressing concerns of foreign governments about its intentions . Here , it needs to intensify efforts to be seen as a responsible , peaceful power . And match this rhetoric with actions . President Xi Jinping made a good start toward this goal in his landmark summit with U.S. President Barack Obama last summer . He pledged to form a `` new model of co-operation '' and that `` China and the United States must find a new path ... one that is different from the inevitable confrontation and conflict between the major countries of the past . '' As the Pew Global data indicates , China 's international image would also benefit from enhanced public diplomacy to win more foreign `` hearts and minds . '' At a symbolic level , example measures might include utilizing the country 's growing capabilities in space travel for high-profile international cooperation projects . Surveys underline that many around the world admire China 's strength in science and technology . A related problem to be tackled is that international communications of Chinese state institutions often lack legitimacy and credibility with foreigners . One solution might be expanding the numbers of non-state groups -- including from civil society networks , diaspora communities , student and academic groups and business networks -- involved in the country 's diplomatic outreach . For many foreign publics , there also needs to be stronger Chinese commitment to domestic political change , transparency and concrete steps towards democratization . Many in the international community are likely to remain wary of the country while it clamps down on its own citizens seeking domestic reform , including human rights activists . Taken overall , the challenges ahead for China are deep-seated and will require sustained investment and significant reform . However , unless they are tackled , the country 's reputational problems will increasingly disable , rather than enable , its ambitions as a rising super power . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Andrew Hammond .
China raised tensions in Taiwan by imposing a new air defense zone . Andrew Hammond says it will lead to a tide of suspicion as China asserts its growing power . He says China 's soft power is lagging behind it hard power , based on military might . He suggests ways China could improve its engagement and image with the international community .