Xi Urges Chinese Envoys to Create ‘Diplomatic Iron Army’
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged Chinese ambassadors to forge a “diplomatic iron army” loyal to the Communist Party, reviving the abrasive “Wolf Warrior” rhetoric propagated by some diplomats as a sign of China’s increasingly assertive foreign policy.
“Dare to be good at struggle and to become defenders of the national interest. It is necessary to... resolutely safeguard the interests of national sovereignty, security and development with a posture of readiness and a firm will to defy strong powers,” Xi told Chinese overseas envoys gathered in Beijing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Ties with the United States thawed briefly after Xi met US President Joe Biden in November, but China is also currently engaged in diplomatic disputes with the Philippines over a contested reef in the South China Sea, as well as Japan over its discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from its wrecked Fukushima reactor.
Xi also urged envoys to adhere to Party discipline, repeating the word “strict” seven times in an annual keynote speech after the Central Foreign Affairs Work Conference, a secretive high-level Communist Party foreign policy planning meeting that takes place once every five years, concluded on Thursday.
Xi also emphasized the need for China to increase its international influence to combat what he believes are the West’s attempts to contain and suppress China, repeating the word “struggle” five times.
At the Central Foreign Affairs Work Conference, Xi also lashed out against the West’s “bullying” and “hegemony,” urging diplomats and officials to “carry forward our fighting spirit.”
