‘Wolf warrior’ label comes under heavy fire from number of critics

China’s action film series Wolf Warrior, which features a retired Chinese soldier who embarks on missions overseas to defeat tough villains and rescue Chinese citizens, has been a phenomenal box office success.

The first movie in the series was released in 2015, with a sequel following two years later.

However, the film’s makers were surprised this year when the movie’s title was used as part of a label that went viral to describe China’s diplomacy.

The tag “wolf warrior diplomacy” has been quoted frequently by some Western media, researchers and politicians, along with other terms such as “debt-trap diplomacy”, to criticize or discredit China.

Diplomats and experts said the label was highlighted in an attempt to associate China’s diplomatic and strategic moves to defend its rightful interests with the combative approach taken in the film.

On Dec 5, Vice-Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told a forum: “Giving us this label is at the least a misunderstanding of China’s diplomacy. You should know that China has always been a country of etiquette, and peace is the most precious thing.”

The country has never taken a lead to provoke others, nor has it gone to great lengths to make trouble on others’ doorsteps or in their homes, Le said.

“Now, some others are actually coming to our doorstep to flex their muscles, interfere in our affairs and insult us endlessly. We have no way out and have to stand up for self-defense and resolutely defend our national interests and dignity,” Le said.

He added that the term “wolf warrior diplomacy” is a new version of the theory that hypes China’s “threat” and is also “a discourse trap”.

Ou Boqian, vice-president of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, echoed Le’s comments and warned against falling into a discourse trap and “argumentative tricks”.

“The West has produced (terms) such as the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’ in mass communication, along with the claim that China poses a threat to the United States and Europe,” Ou said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, commenting on the label, said, “Aggressiveness is not our tradition, neither is bending our knee.

“If some people call China’s diplomacy ‘wolf-warrior diplomacy’ just because we fight back and speak the truth in the face of unscrupulous attacks, slanders and denigration, I don’t see any problem in living with that title, as long as we are fighting for China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, national dignity and honor, and international fairness and justice.”