He is the most well-known and battle-hardened face of Chinese diplomacy. He was transferred to another position. He accused the United States of having created and spread the covid in China. Xi Jinping is likely to want a diplomacy that is aggressive in substance but not in form. Timid attempts to smooth things over with Washington and its allies.
Beijing () – The face of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will no longer be Zhao Lijian, the undisputed leader of the “walf warrior”, the most seasoned faction of Chinese diplomacy. The 50-year-old former spokesman has become one of three deputy directors of the department dealing with border management.
Many observers see this as a layoff disguised as a promotion. Western diplomats have always viewed Zhao as a thorn in their side. In his press conferences, he has often attacked the US and its allies, going so far as to claim that covid-19 was a virus created by Washington and spread by its athletes at the Wuhan Military Games in 2019.
His “removal”, combined with the appointment of Qin Gang (ambassador to the United States) as the new foreign minister, seems to want to curb the bellicose “wolves” of Chinese diplomacy. Beijing’s aggressive rhetoric and geopolitical activism have not intimidated the West, which, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows, is capable of once again closing ranks in the face of strategic threats.
Analysts note that Xi Jinping does not want to change the essence of the country’s foreign policy so much as its form. Scenes such as the Hong Kong protester being roughed up by Chinese consulate staff in Manchester, including Consul General Zheng Xiyuan, did not help the image of Beijing’s diplomacy.
It is very likely that the Qin Gang is called upon to smooth over relations with the US, albeit with a view to strategic competition: the number one objective is to end the trade war with Washington, which has continued even with the exit of Trump scene. The same is true of deteriorating relations with Australia, Japan and the EU, as well as border disputes with India.
However, the most nationalist diplomats will not disappear from the scene, several experts explain: they will be kept in reserve, ready to be useful again. In October, on the sidelines of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Xhaoxu commented that “Chinese diplomacy will continue to show a fighting spirit, improve its fighting capacity, always ready in the front line to defend the interests and the national dignity”.
With Zhao on one side, remaining on the scene for the moment is the other star of the wolf warriors, the Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye. In August, he declared that Taiwanese will have to be “re-educated” when the “rebel” province is reunified with mainland China. And in February 2021 he had sent a letter instructing French Senator Alain Richard not to visit Taipei the following summer, prompting a harsh response from the Paris Foreign Ministry.
