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photo: PRC Government Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has been particularly outspoken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strategic Vision vol. 9, no. 46 (June, 2020)
Wolf Worries
China’s representatives embrace aggressive new ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy Hon-min Yau & Bheki Mthiza Patrick Dlamini
T
he novel coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2019, has bruised China’s global image. Beijing is agitated by references to the disease as the “Wuhan virus,” as used by Taiwan, and the “China virus,” as it is referred to in the Western World and Africa. As a diplomatic response and damage-control strategy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has accelerated the use of its so-called wolf warrior diplomacy. This new type of diplomacy is characterized by aggres-
nationalistic action movies, Wolf Warrior and Wolf Warrior II. In the films, Chinese actor Wu Jing plays a hero who stands up for China’s values and saves Africa from Western barbarians. While Deng Xiaoping once instructed that China should “hide our capabilities and bide our time,” the assertive nature of this new diplomatic strategy seems to be a departure from his dictum and is a significant shift from the previous low-key, non-reactive approach to foreign provocation. However, people
sive statements and reactions by Chinese diplomats and it takes its name from China’s popular series of
often forget that Deng also emphasized the need for China’s policy to be agile and flexible. The former
Dr. Hon-min Yau is a professor at the ROC National Defense University. He can be reached for comment at cf22517855@gmail.com Bheki Mthiza Patrick Dlamini is a Master’s student at the Graduate Institute of Strategic Studies, ROC National Defense University. He can be reached for comment at bhekid765@gmail.com