China's new, hardline 'wolf warrior' diplomacy is supposed to cement its dominance — but it's also uniting its rivals abroad and dividing people at home

Aly Song/Reuters

• A faction of Chinese diplomats have been stepping up their attacks on China's critics by issuing hawkish, offensive statements.
• It's called "wolf warrior" diplomacy, named after a movie franchise about a Chinese soldier who fights and defeats foreign foes.
• In recent weeks, China's wolf warriors have spread a conspiracy theory accusing the US army of creating the coronavirus and mocked the US over the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Experts say their main goal is to undermine China's critics abroad, while pleasing nationalists back home, who want China to stand up for them on the world stage.
• However, there are signs this new form of statecraft isn't working. China's foreign adversaries — like the US, UK, and Australia — are uniting in response, and older Chinese diplomats back home are said to be unnerved by this brash new form of diplomacy.
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In recent months, China has developed a new hardline style of diplomacy in an effort to appeal to its audience at home and advance its interests abroad — but it might not be working as it hoped.

This new diplomacy consists mainly of Chinese officials issuing hawkish, painfully direct, and sometimes-untrue statements in an attempt to rally people around the Communist Party and undermine critics abroad.

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• Kellyanne Conway, who once said the term 'kung flu' was offensive, now says Trump can use the racial slur because Americans must blame China
• Trump's trade adviser embarrassingly retracted a claim that a US deal with China was 'over'

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