China View: Prepare for Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

Xinhua News Agency

Chinese diplomats wasted no time denouncing the United States during the rancorous Anchorage Summit in March. The Chinese behavior was the epitome of the term, “wolf warrior,” used to describe the style of some of China’s diplomats that is increasing in popularity for China’s diplomatic corps - though it may not work to Beijing’s advantage.

“Wolf warrior diplomacy” refers to the strident tone taken by some Chinese diplomats, from tweet storming to barging in on a rival country’s event in a third country, but also to the broader, more aggressive, institutional diplomatic posture taken by China. A good example of this is Beijing’s slapping of a 100% to 200% plus tariff on Australian wine in a suspected retaliation to an Australian ban on the Chinese technology company Huawei and, perhaps, in response to Australian calls for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

It also includes the suspected encouragement of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels moored near a contested reef in water internationally recognized as that of the Philippines, located in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China has sanctioned European officials for critiquing its human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. China is certainly in the spotlight of late. This is partly because as a country becomes more powerful, its visibility becomes greater and questions about its conduct become more prevalent and urgent. 

The origin of the term, “wolf warrior,” comes from a Chinese, action movie series. The most famous of which being Wolf Warrior 2. A Rambo-like film, it follows a Chinese mercenary who saves a besieged town in a West African country that is being destabilized by a Western-backed coup against the rightful government. Notably, Wolf Warrior, the first of the series, a film with a modest budget, has much of the action occur within China’s borders.

In a short period of time, there are clear developments that occur between the two films. In the first film, there is mention of the importance of learning foreign tactics and a visual emphasis on the sophistication of Chinese military technology. The second film depicts a vanquished American Navy. There is also an effort to reduce the suggestion of foreign interference in Africa by focusing on the comradery between Chinese and African people. 

What is the goal of undiplomatic diplomacy? 

The purpose of diplomacy is said to be outward, but as China becomes more visible on the world stage, it makes use of its foreign diplomacy internally. As it becomes more prosperous it has sought to encourage domestic consumption, promote its political system, while buffering its own people from democratic principles. 

For the Chinese population, aggressive diplomats on the world stage are a reminder that the country’s period of humiliation is over and that it is now a great country that can assert itself. On the international front, the idea of the “wolf warrior” strategy is that aggressive communication and confrontation will convince the world that China’s dominance is inevitable, or hopefully bamboozle a hesitant world into accepting an ever-larger Chinese influence.

The Chinese counter-narrative would attack the above use of the term “world,” noting that it reflects only the view of the developed world rather than the broad consensus of the human population. While countries in a recent 2020 opinion survey by Pew Research (although across the world), are all developed, among them, favorable views of China have fallen. But it is also the case that developing countries such as India and the Philippines, have also had their differences with China of late. 

So why squander public opinion? 

Many of China’s actions, like all countries, and particularly highly populated countries, are determined by domestic affairs. There is also an argument that wolf warrior diplomacy is a type of virtue signaling among the elite to show their patriotic zeal. Sometimes, the diplomatic corps of a country is seen as too open to negotiation with foreign powers.

In this case, Chinese diplomats may be trying to avoid the domestic risk of being accused of foreign sympathies by being strident at the expense of their own profession — diplomacy. Xi Jinping, the leader of China, has made it a primary goal to step up ideological education. Wolf Warrior diplomacy affirms these efforts. 

It is difficult to have logical discourse on social media

Chinese diplomats and political elite enjoy the ability to use Western social media platforms to rage against the critique of their country. Nevertheless, they are often overwhelmed by communicating on platforms that are Western-based and open. One can feel the frustration of Chinese diplomats: as China’s power expands, the country encounters more resistance. In a country with little room to critique policies, disagreement may come as a shock.

The reaction to unexpected and sometimes startling challenges, as is especially common on social media, is often anger. In addition to these more reactive responses arising from domestic factors and the onslaught of social media, there are other elements accounting for China’s change in the tone of diplomacy. In another respect, China’s strategy, as in the South China Sea, is actually one of probing for weakness. The strategy is to take the most aggressive position and force opponents to negotiate from a hardline policy down to something a bit more palatable. 

China sees its reaction to its increasing power as hysterical and hypocritical. For decades, China had been a fairly restrained power. Many other nations see China’s aggressive style of diplomacy as an indication of aggressive intentions and a lack of awareness that, as in physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Such issues are exacerbated by social media and the ability of individuals to broadcast their views. 

Some have argued that, in private, Chinese diplomats are more conciliatory. That may be true. Nevertheless, the public spectacle still prevails and holds weight: what is seen by the public in China and abroad leaves an imprint. The likeliest scenario is that the strident tone taken by China will be viewed as the baseline of China’s foreign policy. This will cause countries to react more defensively and plan for ever more worst-case scenarios. 

On a lighter note, wolf warrior diplomacy is not the first type of Chinese diplomacy to be named after an animal. China has also used its coveted Panda bear as a form of diplomacy. The messy complications that arose from determining how to place Panda offspring and an agreement that leased the Pandas proved to be very awkward. In the future, one might hope for diplomacy patterned after “Cherry Blossom” diplomacy (i.e., softer diplomacy) evoking the magnificent cherry blossoms for which Washington DC, among other cities, is known.