EditorialHarsh tone of China’s envoys must give way to diplomatic language
- Sensitive issues, such as how the coronavirus began, require a reasoned and measured response from Beijing, not belligerent outbursts
Beijing’s tougher approach to diplomacy has been evident under President Xi Jinping’s push for China to resume its historic place as a global power. But with the nation increasingly being attacked by governments over the Covid-19 pandemic, its envoys are countering claims and accusations in even more strident tones.
The combative approach has won plaudits among a burgeoning nationalist audience at home, but there are also increasing numbers of voices warning of the risk of a backlash. They are right; if radical sentiments are allowed to spread and get the upper hand at the expense of rational thinking, the consequences are bound to have a lasting impact on diplomatic relations and development.
Claims that China is to blame for the pandemic are irrational and not based on fact. Suggestions by United States President Donald Trump and others that Beijing should pay compensation for the hardship caused are similarly irresponsible; scapegoating China to divert attention from domestic failures and missteps is hypocritical.
But that does not justify the aggressive response of Chinese envoys who at times have appeared to be competing to outdo one another.
Far removed from the restrained and often dull tones of predecessors who often simply read out prepared statements, the new breed of emissaries have been dubbed “wolf warrior diplomats”, reference to patriotic movies featuring a powerfully built Chinese commando who kills foreign adversaries with his bare hands.