China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy is a key feature of Chinese foreign policy in the ‘new era’ under Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary Xi Jinping. It can be understood as representing a muscular Chinese nationalism that is impatient with the current global order. This order is seen as being too influenced by the West, featuring norms of global behaviour – on human rights or on economic progress, for example – that are unwilling to acknowledge what the CPC considers its successful model of political and economic development.
China’s hardline diplomatic approaches show considerable variation in terms of both style and pressure points. With the US, Beijing is conscious of the power differential but wishes to keep up appearances as a power able to challenge Washington’s hegemony. China is willing to go harder at American allies like Japan and the European Union having judged they are lacking in choices. With India, a potential challenger and close American partner, and simultaneously an important market for Chinese enterprises, Beijing’s statements may not be as offensive but are still attempts to show India its place
It would be a mistake, however, to assume that Chinese diplomats are loose cannons in the same manner that the hero of the eponymous hit Chinese movies is. China’s wolf warrior diplomacy is about considerably more than just the abrasive style – it is a carefully calibrated means of pressurising foreign governments and audiences even as moves are made elsewhere signalling China’s openness to engagement. At the same time, the degree of pressure and openness to engagement depends on both who the adversary is and the regional and global context at any given point in time. Complicating things further is the CPC’s imperative of conveying the appropriate signal to its domestic population on how to engage with the country in question.
In short, China’s wolf warrior diplomacy is not a one-size-fits-all activity but a sophisticated exercise based on the balance of power between nations. Let us take four recent examples involving the US, Europe, Japan, and India.
