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"It really showed soft power at its best," said a senior Palace official.

The ambassador has spoken of the "intangible but priceless" value of such soft power royal visits, as the UK tries to "reset" its relations with European neighbours after Brexit.

Let’s even set aside how this is probably lights-out for American global leadership and how, between this gut punch to the economic world order and Trump’s months of spurning military allies and abandoning soft power, China’s going to have a lot of new potential friends knocking on its door.

Agoa has long been viewed as an important tool of US soft power, especially in countering the growing influence of China and Russia in Africa.

It’s common after disasters for foreign countries to donate to relief efforts in a show of goodwill and a subtle flexing of soft power.