The return of the wolf warrior. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs bares its teeth

Chinese social media has been abuzz with information about recently “demoted” former spokesman Zhao Lijian, who was arguably the most recognizable “wolf warrior diplomat” of the pack.

Serving as the 31st spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023, Zhao was known for his aggressive and provocative comments, as well as his direct manner.

He often caused controversy with his tweets defending China’s assertive diplomacy and criticizing foreign countries, especially the US.

Since January, Zhao has been deputy director of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs.

The main responsibilities of the position include, among others, the development of policies on land and sea limits, the management of the delimitation and demarcation of land limits and joint inspections with neighboring countries, in accordance with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairswebsite of

Internet users have been sharing photos of Zhao visiting border posts and inspecting border markers.

In one of the photos circulating on Weibo, a casually dressed Zhao is seen painting a border marker in Guangxi, next to Vietnam.

Comments from netizens include: “Zhao Lijian is patrolling the border. He went from speaker to guardian!” and “Degraded a thousand miles away? Wherever the homeland needs me, I will absolutely go!”

‘Wolf Warrior Diplomats’

The term ‘wolf warrior’ is derived from a series of Chinese action movies in which the main character is portrayed as patriotic, upright and just. The so-called “wolf warrior diplomacy” reflects the combative, confrontational and sometimes coercive style of China’s foreign policy in recent years.

In December, the US National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, said in a security forum that Beijing had finally realized that “wolf warrior diplomacy” was not working.

“I think they recognize that, in many ways, it has failed,” Campbell said.

But when China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang held his first international press briefing in Beijing last week, he made sure to let them know that China’s “wolf warrior diplomacy” is here to stay.

“I remember when I first arrived as the Chinese ambassador to the United States, the American media exclaimed: ‘Here comes a Chinese wolf warrior,'” Qin Gang said in the press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary meeting, called the “Two Sessions”.

Qin served as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for two terms from 2006 to 2014 and as China’s ambassador to the United States from July 2021.

“Now I am back as foreign minister, the media has stopped calling me that,” the new foreign minister said, adding that wolf warrior diplomacy is a narrative trap.

“Those who invented the term and set the trap either know little about China and its diplomacy, or have a hidden agenda that ignores the facts.”

His country’s diplomacy will remain constant, Qin said.

“In China’s diplomacy, there is no lack of goodwill and kindness. But if they face jackals or wolves, Chinese diplomats will have no choice but to face them head-on and protect our homeland,” said the minister, who on Sunday was also appointed a state councilor, a rank immediately below that of deputy prime minister.

Qin Gang’s comments came a day after China’s Supreme Leader Xi Jinping told the legislative meeting that “Western countries, led by the United States, have implemented an all-out containment and suppression of China.”

It is impossible to ask that “China not respond with words or actions when it is slandered or attacked,” Qin said.

Edited by Mike Firn.