China reins in ‘wolf warriors’

Beijing – For over a year they have whipped up outrage against the West, but as China’s “wolf warrior” diplomats are told to tone down the fury, they face an unexpected source of opposition: nationalists at home.

Under fire in recent years over issues ranging from human rights abuses to blame for the Covid-19 pandemic, Beijing unleashed a new breed of diplomat that became known as “wolf warriors” – a popular term for belligerent nationalism inspired by a Chinese blockbuster film.

Foreign ministry spokespeople and officials abroad adopted a strident and indignant tone to loudly defend the Communist-led country and even promote conspiracy theories or openly insult foreign counterparts.

But in something of an aboutturn, President Xi Jinping this month urged top political leaders to help cultivate a “reliable, admirable and respectable” international image in a bid to improve China’s soft power.

Florian Schneider, director of the Leiden Asia Centre in the Netherlands, said the new approach required a delicate balancing act.

“China’s leaders have manoeuvred themselves into somewhat of a trap. On the one hand, they have promised the world a mild and benevolent China – on the other hand, they have promised domestic audiences a strong and assertive China.”

Oficials calling for subtler messaging have faced nationalist pushback, leaving them torn between their domestic and international audiences.

“Patriotic” Weibo influencers this month turned against prominent Chinese intellectuals who participated in a Japanese government-sponsored study exchange programme, branding them “traitors” for accepting Japanese money.

This coincided with a visit by US senators to Taiwan to donate coronavirus vaccines, to which the foreign ministry gave a mild rebuke that prompted the scorn of nationalist internet trolls.

“Why aren’t we shooting them down, they’ve violated our airspace!” one user wrote, a sentiment shared by others.