{"id":56554,"date":"2020-06-11T12:23:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T02:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=56554"},"modified":"2020-06-11T12:23:53","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T02:23:53","slug":"chinese-diplomats-behaving-badly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinese-diplomats-behaving-badly\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese diplomats behaving badly"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Chinese diplomats have long had a reputation as well-trained, colourless and cautious professionals who pursue their missions doggedly without attracting much unfavourable attention. But a new crop of younger diplomats are ditching established diplomatic norms in favour of aggressively promoting China\u2019s self-serving Covid-19 narrative. It\u2019s called \u2018wolf warrior\u2019 diplomacy\u2014and it\u2019s backfiring.<\/p>\n

Shortly before the Covid-19 crisis erupted, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi instructed<\/a> the country\u2019s diplomatic corps to adopt a more assertive approach to defending China\u2019s interests and reputation abroad. The pandemic\u2014the scale of which could have been far smaller were it not for local Wuhan authorities\u2019 early mistakes<\/a>\u2014presented a perfect opportunity to translate this directive into action.<\/p>\n

And that is precisely what Chinese diplomats have been doing. For example, in mid-March, the foreign ministry\u2019s newly appointed deputy spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, promoted<\/a> a conspiracy theory alleging that the US military brought the novel coronavirus to Wuhan, the pandemic\u2019s first epicentre.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in early April, the Chinese ambassador to France posted a series of anonymous articles on his embassy\u2019s website falsely claiming<\/a> that the virus\u2019s elderly victims were being left alone to die in the country. Later that month, after Australia joined the United States in calling for an international investigation into the pandemic\u2019s origins, the Chinese envoy in Canberra quickly threatened<\/a> boycotts and sanctions.<\/p>\n

But, unlike the fictional special-operations agents after which they\u2019re named (from a popular Chinese action movie), China\u2019s wolf-warrior diplomats haven\u2019t been rewarded for their recklessly confrontational style. Far from burnishing China\u2019s international image and placating those who blame the country for the pandemic, their actions have undermined China\u2019s credibility and alienated the countries it should be wooing.<\/p>\n

Why change tack in the first place? One reason is China\u2019s current combination of historical insecurity, rooted in its so-called century of humiliation, and heady arrogance, fuelled by its immense economic clout and geopolitical influence. So keen are China\u2019s leaders to gain the respect they feel their country deserves that they have become highly sensitive to criticism and quick to threaten economic coercion when countries dare to defy them.<\/p>\n

Another reason is the current regime\u2019s emphasis on political loyalty. Under President Xi Jinping\u2019s highly centralised leadership, Chinese diplomats are evaluated not on how well they perform their professional duties, but on how faithfully and vocally they toe the party line. This is exemplified by the appointment last year of Qi Yu, a propaganda apparatchik with no foreign policy experience or credentials, as party secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u2014an important post traditionally held by an experienced diplomat.<\/p>\n

If aggressively pushing the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s preferred narrative<\/a> is a matter of professional survival, diplomats will do it, even if they recognise that it\u2019s counterproductive (as many probably do). They certainly won\u2019t try to persuade their political masters to change course. Whereas diplomats risk paying a heavy price for conscientious dissent, they seem to suffer no consequences\u2014from criticisms in official media to demotions or dismissals\u2014for destructive loyalty. When pushing the CCP-approved narrative produces negative results, it is, in party parlance, an issue of tactics, not the \u2018political line\u2019. Punishing loyal diplomats for \u2018tactical errors\u2019 would make them more reluctant to do the CCP\u2019s dirty work in the future.<\/p>\n

By removing any incentive for diplomats to temper their approach and offering a convenient excuse for setbacks, this logic entrenches bad policy<\/a>. It doesn\u2019t help that China lacks a free press and political opposition to highlight the failures of the wolf-warrior approach. Unlike Western diplomats, those in China don\u2019t have to fear public ridicule or criticism. All that matters is what their bosses say\u2014and their bosses want wolf warriors.<\/p>\n

This is a mistake. At a time when China\u2019s reputation is suffering and its relationship with the US is in freefall<\/a>, the country\u2019s diplomats should be focused on differentiating China\u2019s foreign policy from that of US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

It is Trump who recklessly promotes conspiracy theories and aggressively responds to any perceived slight with threats and sanctions. It is Trump who foolishly alienates friends and partners, rather than cultivating mutually beneficial relationships. And it is Trump whose belligerent insistence on his country\u2019s superiority has eroded its international reputation and undermined its interests.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s leaders should know better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chinese diplomats have long had a reputation as well-trained, colourless and cautious professionals who pursue their missions doggedly without attracting much unfavourable attention. 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