The approaches that
the PRC has taken in its foreign policy since its establishment can be divided
into distinct periods. From 1949 to 1979 could be characterized as a period of
“revolutionary diplomacy” that strengthened by Mao. The period from 1979 to
2009 could be defined as "development diplomacy." The
process that has occurred since 2009 can be described as a more realistic and
assertive phase that has coincided with the emergence of China's rise and the
sharpening of global competition.
The "aggressive
and assertive" approach, which has become particularly visible
with Xi Jinping, does not prefer a break from previous diplomatic approaches,
but considers a fusion of these two approaches with a more assertive power
projection to be more reasonable. In other words, China is equally determined
to continue its peaceful rise, but it does not neglect to make a "real
observation" about the course of the international environment.
US diplomatic
rhetoric sharpens China's rhetoric
The fact that Western
flagship media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, are making big
headlines about "Asia's sick man" shows that the
perception of past China in the western imagination has resurfaced. At this
juncture, discussions on "wolf warrior diplomacy" have
begun to be made regarding the China's recent change in diplomatic
language. The diplomatic language, which has generally been used in official
texts for the last decade, seems to have taken on a more aggressive tone.
The “wolf-warrior
diplomacy” is commonly known as taking a harsh stance against any
criticism of China in the name of depending China’s national interests. China
on other hand, disagrees. According to Chinese diplomats, where there are
diplomatic wolves, such a tendency is perfectly normal for Chinese diplomacy.
Some experets see this trend as symbolic of a violent “nationalist
turn" under Xi Jinpin’s leaderhsip.
Those who discuss the
complexity of world politics and modern geopolitics, on the other hand, argue
that Chinese diplomats “acted too soon and sounded too loud” and think that
China's well-known strategic patience has been overturned.
“Wolf Warrior or
Kung-Fu Panda Diplomacy?”
"China has never
chosen to fight or bully others. China has principles and courage and will repulse
deliberate actions to resolutely defend its national dignity" said,
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, when asked about "warrior wolf
diplomacy".
This could be read as
a sign that the Chinese foreign ministry supports this trend.
“As long as there are
wolves around you, there must be wolf warriors to fight them. When faced with
wolves, we must fight vigorously; but when we meet the public, what we show
them is a peaceful, cooperative and friendly China" Liu
Xiaoming, China's Ambassador to the UK, said.
In recent years, a
there has been hardening attitude toward the United States, Australia, and
other countries in Chinese diplomacy. By the way, its possible to say that this
approach is popular in China. This also marks a shift in diplomacy from a
conservatives, passive, and low-profile approach to a more proactive
high-profile approach.
The term "Wolf
Warrior" actually comes from a very popular movie series in China
about Chinese special forces.
On the Chinese side,
the names that use this diplomatic language the most and draw attention are Hua
Chunying and Zhao Lijian from Chinese foreign affairs. In particular, Twitter
seems to have an important place in the use of this new diplomatic approach. It
is also noteworthy that Xi Jinping has frequently mentioned the "war spirit" in recent years.
Meanwhile, one of the
underlying reasons for the emergence and strengthening of this trend is China's
belief that Western media has an ideological and prejudiced approach to China.
In this respect, it is possible to see warrior-wolf diplomacy as a part of
China's effort to “tell the Chinese story”.
However, not all
Chinese diplomats accept this new norm?. Some of them are
critical or example, the US ambassador Cui Tiankai did not take the
warrior approach and found Zhao's theory that 'US army may have brought the
virus' as "crazy". Fu Ying, another senior diplomat, said that
Chinese diplomats should "support a
spirit of humility and tolerance".
Avoiding the 'fate of
war' and the cost of a realistic return
Based on all of these
findings, we can conclude that China's already-weak soft power has been
weakened even further by its new discursive practice. However, it is possible
to argue that biased news in the Western media, which is not based on evidence,
contributes to this trend.
China must firmly
strike a balance between defending national interests and retaining its soft
power. This is a significant challenge. In a situation where the US is
constantly surrounding and pressing China on all fronts, the question of how
much more room China has to maneuver gains importance.
The Chinese foreign
minister's emphasis on the necessity of avoiding a "new cold
war" in his statement after the "two sessions" he held
each year is an important sign of the narrowing of the Chinese
side's room for manoeuvre. At this point, in the context of global hegemony,
Graham Allison's "Destined for War: America and China can Survive
Thucydides' Trap?" It is possible to remember the book titled.
In a nutshell, the
book defends the thesis that "when a rising power threatens to
overthrow the established power, the most likely outcome is war."
Can the two powers
avert the "destiny of war"? From this viewpoint, in
Thucydides' "The History of
Peloponnesian War", "when people go to war, they do things the
wrong way. The action comes first, and only when they start to suffer they
begin thinking”. From this perspective, the US-China relations are highly
dependent and can affect the global economy sensitively through this
dependency.
To the extent that
the two powers can resist the destruction and damage that the most probable
outcome will bring, time will tell if they can create a new cooperation ground
where competition is still exist . However, it seems certain that
both US and China are drifting toward a whirlpool that they are not tried very
hard to "avoid".
To summarize, rather than saying that China's foreign policy is dominated by a "aggressive approach," we can say that as China's global weight grows, its diplomatic approach is taking a "realist turn" in response to international conditions.
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