China looks for the diplomatic ‘sweet spot’ between panda and wolf

China began loaning pandas to other countries as early as the 1950s [AFP]

With comments such as, “It’s possible that the US military brought the [COVID-19] virus to Wuhan” and, “Racism against ethnic minorities in the US is a chronic disease of American society”, former Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was one of the most ardent of China’s so-called wolf warrior diplomats.

Although criticised by Western diplomats, Zhao’s combative rhetoric drew a huge audience on social media platform X, where he built up a following of more than 1.9 million, and other Chinese diplomats rushed to adopt his forthright approach.