Beijing asks challenged Wolf Warriors to find wisdom in China’s past

Foreign ministry has diplomats studying Communist Party history as it celebrates centenary
Wolf Warriors are digging in against criticism from the West but even some government insiders question the value of hard-line diplomacy

US-China relations

Amber Wangin Beijing

Published: 6:00pm, 11 Apr 2021

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Chinese diplomats are being asked to strengthen their combative posture even though Wolf Warrior diplomacy appears to have backfired in the West and even at home, but while China is justifying its powerful counteraction against “foreign smears”.

According to the website of the Chinese foreign ministry, diplomats last month started studying Communist Party history in a national campaign overseen by President Xi Jinping for cadres to find “wisdom” from the party’s past, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.

In a statement posted by the ministry last week, party secretary of the ministry Qi Yu said: “Through the study of party history, we should continuously improve the ability of the diplomatic team to deal with risks and challenges … enhance the ability to fight, and be brave and good at fighting.”

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Qi also urged the diplomats to “grasp the historical initiative [and] recognise the general trend of the world and the historical position of contemporary China”. He asked that they “recognise that we are on the right side of history and strengthen political determination, with no fear of the changeable situation, and be active, hard working, and promising”.

He said it was necessary for Chinese diplomats to win over global support for, and understanding of, the Communist Party.

The emphasis on “fighting spirit” reflects that the diplomats will continuously take a stronger stance in the future, Beijing experts said. It is a phrase Xi Jinping has highlighted since 2019 in the face of rising international risks, including the trade war with the United States and anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

“The ministry grasped the key point, and I believe it will put more emphasis on the theme of ‘fighting’ in practice and adopt a stance of ‘irrational diplomacy’,” said Wu Qiang, a political analyst based in Beijing.

No Wolf Warriors here: foreign minister sends message of ‘responsible China’

Wolf Warrior diplomacy, a term describing the aggressive and combative style adopted by Chinese diplomats in recent years, has become more controversial as diplomats get tough against Western accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and over other topics Beijing regards as core interests, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In March, in a letter defending its ambassador’s tweets insulting a French researcher, the Chinese embassy in France said: “If there is a Wolf Warrior diplomacy, it is because there are too many ‘mad dogs’.

“Some people want China’s diplomacy to be ‘lamb diplomacy’, which is more tolerant and calm towards external attacks,” the embassy said. “This era has gone forever.”

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Some traditional diplomats defended the tough approach as counter-attacks and believed the speech by particular diplomats did not represent the whole picture, or the willingness of the leadership.

“In the face of the smears and rumours from the United States and other Western countries, we have to fight back and tell the truth,” Chen Shiqiu, former Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, said.

“We can’t always be as soft as we used to be in the past, [the West is] already ‘fighting at the gate of your house’ – what else should we do except fight back? We also have the strength already, and need to have the right to speak.”

However, China had not given up on having a peaceful foreign policy or Deng Xiaoping’s strategy that China should hide its strength and bide its time while it developed, Chen said.

“We still have a sense of propriety, but we will never make any concession on matters concerning our safety and development interests.”

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In addition to criticism from overseas, the hardline stance may also be backfiring inside the government, according to some former government officials and advisers.

“Diplomacy should not be served for internal propaganda. We need to make more friends, fewer enemies. The fundamental problem lies in how China acknowledges itself and the world,” said a government adviser who asked to remain anonymous.

Chinese leadership believed that “the East is rising and the West is declining,” a tone reflecting a more confident and proactive posture in its diplomacy, experts said, and Wolf Warrior diplomacy also appealed to the growing nationalism of domestic audiences.

“The US is not qualified to speak to China from a position of strength. We Chinese people don’t buy it,” remarked China’s most senior foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, during talks with US officials in Anchorage, mirroring the logic of the hard-line policy, said experts.

Is it time for China to leash its Wolf Warrior diplomats?

The rapid development of China’s economy has made people feel enthusiastic and complacent, both the masses and the leadership, said a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who asked not to be named.

“We are still in the stage of speeding up economic development and reforms which require a stable international environment, but not to make enemies everywhere,” the person said.

“The more you face the pressure, it is precisely this time that you have to calm down. [Wolf Warrior diplomacy] is not patriotic, but only creating trouble for our country.”