Nicholas Burns, the new ambassador to China nominated by US President Joe Biden, viciously carried out a systematic attack against China at a US Senate hearing on Wednesday, acting like a complete “wolf warrior.” Burns will come to Beijing, but instead of demonstrating his willingness to promote friendly exchanges between China and the US and the two peoples, he showed a gesture of a “wolf warrior” ambassador. Burns humiliated the original meaning of diplomatic envoys and made a very bad example for world diplomacy.
This being the case, I suggest that Chinese society treat him as a “wolf warrior.” We will give him the diplomatic etiquette and treatment he deserves, but there is no need to repay him the kind of respect and Chinese people’s friendliness that we usually hold toward foreign envoys.
The name “wolf warrior” comes from a Chinese movie. It reflects Chinese soldiers’ firm attitude in resolutely responding to external challenges and bullying. However, one of the fundamental connotations of diplomacy is communication and coordination. China has always advocated friendly cooperation with foreign countries to resolve differences in a peaceful way. Our diplomats have fully demonstrated such Chinese diplomatic philosophy and shaped the collective character of Chinese diplomats. All countries must safeguard their own interests and will not back down on issues of principle. But our desire to live in harmony with the world determines the overall tone of China’s foreign exchanges.
The West frequently throws the “wolf warrior diplomacy” label on China with extremely sinister intentions. Which Chinese ambassador has made such vicious and all-round attack on other countries before taking office as Burns did? Even toward the countries with most serious conflicts with China, Chinese ambassadors will affirm their willingness to resolve differences and promote cooperation before taking office, and highlight the positive assets in the history of interactions between the two countries.
Qin Gang, the new Chinese ambassador to the US, frequently met with senior executives of US companies in China before taking office. He expressed his desire to promote China-US mutual trust, clear up doubts and expand cooperation. Qin has set an example for Burns and his like on how to become an ambassador to a country with serious divergences.
It is the US that has pushed diplomacy violently toward a “wolf warrior” style. This is how US diplomacy toward China is, as well as its diplomacy toward Russia and many other countries that have conflicts with the US.
There is an idiom in China: A thief crying “stop thief.” The US’ “wolf warrior diplomacy” has made the most classic explanation for this saying. Burns represents those who would rather be a “wolf warrior” than a friendly ambassador. He made a more comprehensive attack on China, before coming to take office, than any other high-ranking official in the Biden administration. From Xinjiang to Hong Kong affairs, the Taiwan question and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burns did not leave out a single topic in his attacks. Burns has given people the impression that he will come to China to denounce China like a “wolf warrior.” His statement at the hearing was an eye-opener for world diplomacy, and made Chinese people who saw the news indignant.
