Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

The People's Republic of China under the leadership of Xi Jinping has abandoned its traditional caution in foreign policy in favor of a more assertive stance. The policy followed by China until Xi came to power was marked by diplomatic relations subject to maintaining a low and peaceful profile based on cooperation and non-interventionism. The Asian giant was able to survive the competition between the great powers of the Cold War by maintaining a clear non-alignment between the Soviet Union and the United States. Deng Xiaoping prioritized China's internal development over an aggressive foreign policy. Under the principle of “hide your strengths, buy time,” the People's Republic went from an overpopulated and extremely poor country to a superpower in less than 40 years. This achievement is unprecedented since elevation to great power has traditionally come hand in hand with territorial expansion, be it European imperialism, the expansionism of the 13 American colonies to the west or the USSR's network of satellite states. China has not needed to look for resources abroad, but has managed to get the resources to come to it.

The principles guiding China's foreign policy before adopting “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy were threefold. The first was non-interference in the internal affairs of potential partners. This approach has enabled it to forge alliances with regimes of all types and ideologies. China can reach agreements with Orbán's Hungary, the Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka or the Ayatollahs' Iran. The second principle was the search for mutual benefit and respect. This principle follows in the wake of the first and has enabled them to successfully approach the countries of the so-called Global South. The New Silk Road Initiative was very well received in African countries, which are tired of European paternalism. The third principle was that of peaceful development whereby the use of military capabilities has been very limited to date. These fundamentals made China to be seen as a reliable, stable partner committed to global stability. It built itself up as a great power without the need to send in tanks, bomb foreign capitals or threaten rivals with the use of atomic weapons if they did not follow its criteria. Gradually, however, China has been turning diplomacy toward more aggressive, hard power postures.

Xi Jinping's rise to power is undoubtedly one of the most decisive factors. The process of Xi's consolidation of power within the Communist Party of China (CPC) has had a direct effect on how the Asian giant has shown itself to the outside world. The idea that China is a strong, unified country with an essential place in the world has been consolidated under Xi's nationalist leadership. The control of the South China Sea through taxation, the trade war with the US, as well as the eradication of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong have been three of the most illustrative examples of the new face of Xi's China.

“Wolf Warrior” diplomacy refers to a very popular Chinese war action movie series started in 2015 where an elite PLA group is trained in foreign combat tactics to fight external threats. For that reason it was used as the name “Wolf Warrior” to define a more aggressive twist to Chinese foreign policy. The first change introduced by this new type of diplomacy is the change in communicative rhetoric. Diplomats and political representatives now use more aggressive, combative and nationalistic language. Messages are not only directed towards political representatives of other states, but have expanded the audience to journalists and academics. The use of social networks has increased, being a communication channel where aggressive and polarizing language is rewarded. The second change has been with respect to territorial demands. Not only in the aforementioned conflict in the South China Sea and the controversial “9-point line” but also with respect to Taiwan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in 2022 was met with joint military maneuvers by the People's Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait. Likewise the escalating border crises with India in the Himalayas. The border between the two giants is getting hotter and hotter, with “incidents” resulting in fatalities that are rarely cleared up.

Another area where China has been more assertive has been economic. Threats and boycotts against countries that maintain relations with Taiwan is one example. The latest crisis was unleashed against Lithuania in 2021, when the Baltic country accepted a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius. This fact is just the latest disagreement that the Baltic country has had with China since in 2020 it openly positioned itself against the National Security Law that de facto ended Hong Kong's political autonomy, as well as in the same 2021, when a resolution against the persecution of the Uyghurs was passed. Therefore, when Lithuania announced that the new office would bear the name Taiwan, instead of China-Taipei, which is the name commonly used by other countries to avoid conflicts with China, Beijing began to press. The most immediate consequence was the removal of Lithuania from customs clearance. Trains connecting Lithuania-China were held up at the border. Later, trade and diplomatic relations between the two countries were blocked. In view of the Baltic country's determination not to change its policy, China warned multinational companies not to invest and even to stop supplying the country. This crisis began to ease with the involvement of the EU in the equation and the search for a diplomatic rapprochement by the end of 2023.

China's adoption of more assertive diplomacy is a turn of events that was inevitable. China's rise as a superpower marked the end of the US unipolar moment. The adoption of the language of power, of imposing judgment, occurs when the alternative looks less beneficial. China has grown so much that it has become an unavoidable player for the whole world. Like its U.S. counterpart, China has a global project capable of maintaining relations with all continents. Its role as the “world's factory” has positioned it as the power that has benefited most from globalization, as an essential element in the global supply chain. The Covid-19 pandemic made evident the Asian giant's strength and dependence to keep basic services running. If we were able to stay indoors and beat the virus for months it was because China remained productive, otherwise the collapse would have been far more pronounced. China took note and is asserting its power, just as the US did after WWII.