{"id":7342,"date":"2020-05-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2020-05-22T11:00:32","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T01:00:32","slug":"behind-chinas-newly-aggressive-diplomacy-wolf-warriors-ready-to-fight-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/behind-chinas-newly-aggressive-diplomacy-wolf-warriors-ready-to-fight-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind China\u2019s newly aggressive diplomacy: \u2018wolf warriors\u2019 ready to fight back"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When former President Hu Jintao visited Australia in 2003, he\u00a0began his address to parliament<\/a>\u00a0by describing the exploits of a 15th century Chinese admiral, Zheng He:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in the 1420s, the expeditionary fleets of China\u2019s Ming Dynasty reached Australian shores \u2026 They brought Chinese culture to this land and lived harmoniously with the local people, contributing their proud share to Australia\u2019s economy, society and its thriving pluralistic culture<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This account of explorer Zheng\u2019s voyages has largely been dismissed<\/a> by western historians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it indicates the extent of the regional ambition wrapped up in the Communist Party\u2019s control of history today, including how the Chinese empire once presided over myriad subservient tribute states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is crucial for its promotion of nationalism \u2013 an increasingly vital part of the party\u2019s own legitimacy as its economy falters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projecting power under Xi Jinping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since becoming general secretary<\/a> of the Communist Party in 2012, President Xi Jinping has emphasised this \u201crejuvenation\u201d of China, recalling two earlier golden eras during the Tang and High Qing dynasties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs largely persisted with the traditional, polite diplomacy that had seen China\u2019s influence grow steadily and quietly, commensurate with its economic heft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But things changed as Xi\u2019s new team pushed aside officials\u00a0viewed as corrupt<\/a>\u00a0or inadequately responsive to his demands to more forcefully assert China\u2019s rejuvenation, both at home and to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foreign Ministry was losing its influence as Xi\u2019s tight inner circle centralised decision-making. Foreign diplomats came to understand they needed to go to party insiders if they wanted to understand or seek to influence Chinese policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A watershed moment came with the blockbuster success of the patriotic, Rambo-style film\u00a0Wolf Warrior 2<\/a>\u00a0in mid-2017.\u00a0Its slogan<\/a>, taken from a Han dynasty saying, is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever offends China will be punished, no matter how far they are.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the film, the red cover of a Chinese passport is displayed, accompanied by the\u00a0message<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citizens of the PRC: When you encounter danger in a foreign land, do not give up! Please remember, at your back stands a strong motherland.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At the huge exhibition accompanying the 19th party congress<\/a> a few months later, the foreign ministry proudly exhibited a new hotline system<\/a> that Chinese people abroad could use to call for help, \u201cno matter how far they are\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The People\u2019s Liberation Army command was restructured<\/a> and equipped to project power, including through a blue-water navy<\/a> and its first overseas base<\/a> in Djibouti, east Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Xi ordered massive new resources for diplomacy, doubling the foreign ministry budget<\/a> from 2013-18, and since then raising it by double digits annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top diplomat Yang Jiechi was also promoted<\/a> to the Politburo and a new Central Foreign Affairs Commission was established, underlining Xi\u2019s determination to elevate a more assertive foreign policy as a national priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawkish diplomats reinforce the message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s international messaging also changed rapidly. At the party to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Foreign Ministry last year, Minister Wang Yi urged the country\u2019s envoys to adopt a \u201cfighting spirit\u201d<\/a> in the face of international challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Twitter and Facebook are banned in China,\u00a0diplomats quickly acquired<\/a>\u00a0accounts and followers, and began to use them to hammer the countries where they were posted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When diplomat Zhao Lijian returned from a posting to Pakistan last year, Reuters reported<\/a> that \u201ca group of young admirers\u201d at the Foreign Ministry cheered him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had\u00a0catapulted into global attention<\/a>\u00a0by labelling the US as racist and in a Twitter spat,\u00a0telling<\/a>\u00a0former National Security Advisor Susan Rice she was \u201ca disgrace\u201d and \u201cshockingly ignorant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Truth hurts. The living conditions of African-Americans are worrisome. The median white family has 10 times as much wealth as the median black family. African-Americans are 2.5 times as likely to be in poverty as whites, about twice as likely to be in unemployment as whites.<\/p>— Lijian Zhao \u8d75\u7acb\u575a (@zlj517) July 15, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>