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China’s Wolf Warrior diplomacy is our justified defence – get used to it, says outspoken diplomat
- Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye says striking back embodies the ‘achieve something’ mantra of Deng Xiaoping
- His remarks come after President Xi Jinping called for top party officials to build a more ‘respectable’ image of China
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One of China’s most outspoken diplomats said the country’s Wolf Warrior diplomacy was a “justified defence” against Western criticism and that the world had to get used to China’s new diplomatic style.
Lu Shaye, the Chinese envoy to France, said in the past China had kept a low profile but its strength and rising status over the years and increasing pressure from the West had sparked its need to react.
He said China had shifted its focus from late leader Deng Xiaoping’s mantra of tao guang yang hui – “hide your strength, bide your time” – to a lesser known but more assertive line of “achieve something”.
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“Comrade Deng Xiaoping talked about tao guang yang hui, but there is the latter half of the sentence – you suo zuo wei [achieve something],” Lu said in an interview with Chinese news site Guancha.cn published on Wednesday. “Our striking on diplomatic and public opinion fronts is a form of ‘achieve something’.”
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Deng Xiaoping’s role in transforming China
Deng Xiaoping’s role in transforming China
Lu said China must “do something” to fight back as it engaged in a public opinion war.
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