In recent years China has made dramatic efforts to promote its soft power. These efforts have attracted much attention in the West, especially in the United States, where analysts and policy-makers have expressed concern that China’s rise may threaten status-quo power arrangements. However, many commentators on China curiously conflate hard and soft forms of power, thus giving the erroneous impression that China possesses far more “soft” influence than it really does. This article explores some of the reasons for this misinterpretation and concludes that the way the international community conceives of and responds to China’s rise might in itself become a source of Chinese power and influence, leading to a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.