Thinking About China
Opinion

Are China’s ‘Wolf Warriors’ Gone?

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Are China’s ‘Wolf Warriors’ Gone?
Yang Jiechi (R), director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office for China, and Wang Yi (L), China's Foreign Minister, arrive for a meeting with U.S. counterparts at the opening session of U.S.–China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18, 2021. Fredrick J. Brown/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
June Teufel Dreyer
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Commentary

In early June, Chinese leader Xi Jinping created a sensation when he urged officials to create a more “lovable” (可愛的) China. As reported by state news agency Xinhua, the country must “make friends extensively, unite the majority, and continuously expand its circle of friends with those who understand and are friendly to China.” Since Chinese diplomacy in recent years has been decidedly undiplomatic, foreign media speculated that this heralded a change in policy. Could this mean the end of “wolf warrior” diplomacy?

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June Teufel Dreyer
June Teufel Dreyer
Author
June Teufel Dreyer is a professor of politics at the University of Miami, a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a faculty adviser to the Rumsfeld Foundation, and a former commissioner of the congressionally-mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Her books include studies on China’s ethnic minorities, Sino-Japanese relations, a comprehensive treatment of Chinese government now in its 10th edition, and an edited volume on Taiwan politics.
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