EU ambassador to China hits out at ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’, urges Beijing to cherish ‘Deng Xiaoping legacy’

China’s image in Europe is worsening and Beijing must do its part to reverse the massive erosion of goodwill, says EU ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis

China should allow free debate, be open to discussion on the South China Sea and be prepared to give up ‘developing’ status at the World Trade Organization

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European Union ambassador to Beijing Nicolas Chapuis says China’s image in Europe is deteriorating. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:00pm, 10 Dec 2020Updated: 5:13am, 11 Dec 2020

European Union ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis said on Thursday the bloc will seek common ground with the United States to stand up to Beijing’s bullying, intimidation and “wolf warrior diplomacy”, while recommending the government revisit “Deng Xiaoping’s legacy” to seek goodwill in Europe.

The speech was made just days after China’s vice foreign minister Le Yucheng rejected the “wolf warrior” label used to criticise the aggressive rhetoric adopted by some Chinese diplomats. He described the tag as a “discourse trap”, adding foreign envoys were only standing up for the country.

Chapuis said China’s image in Europe was worsening and Beijing must do its part to change the “extremely worrying” erosion of goodwill that had taken over the past year.

The South China Sea is not only a China issue … it is an international issue

Nicolas Chapuis

“In a country like mine, France, where China has had a positive image for more than 300 years, for the first time in French history, China’s image is negative,” he told a forum hosted by IHS Markit and China’s largest state-owned oil company.

Chapuis did not specify the reasons behind China’s worsening public image, but said it was not because of the media.

“It’s because of what has happened during the last year,” he said.

China must allow free debate by letting “one hundred flowers blossom and one hundred schools of thought contend”, he said, referring to a well-known slogan from Chinese history.

An opinion piece co-authored by Chapuis was censored in May for insinuating the coronavirus originated in China.

Chapuis suggested that China be more open about the South China Sea and consult other nations about the dispute, including Australia, New Zealand and Europe. He admitted it would be a hard proposal for Beijing to accept, as it was trying to exclude “players not in the region”.