An investigation into ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy in Africa via Twitter and Facebook at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Chinese diplomats have been dubbed ‘Wolf Warriors’ following their efforts to shape the COVID-19 narrative. This study explores how ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy was applied on Twitter and Facebook by Chinese diplomats in Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, in the context of China’s wider public diplomacy on the continent. It seeks to analyse the diplomatic tone adopted by the Chinese, focusing largely on media posts concerning the US administration in early 2020 and their respective responses to the pandemic. This study investigates this diplomatic form on social media accounts of the former Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, and others. Discourse analysis was used to test and understand the exercise of ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy and its implications for Africa, noting the emerging practise of African digital diplomacy.

KEYWORDS:

• ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy
• Chinese foreign policy
• COVID-19
• Africa
• digital diplomacy
• Twitter

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Josephine Ma, “Coronavirus: China’s First Confirmed COVID-19 Case Traced Back to November 17,” South China Morning Post, March 13, 2020. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3074991/coronavirus-chinas-first-confirmed-covid-19-case-traced-back.

2 Kimmy Yam, “Trump Tweets about Coronavirus using the term ‘Chinese Virus’,” NBC News, March 17, 2020. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/trumptweets-about-coronavirus-using-term-chinese-virus-n1161161

3 Ben Westcott and Steven Jiang, “China is embracing a new brand of foreign policy. Here's what wolf warrior diplomacy means,” CNN, May 29, 2020. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/28/asia/china-wolf-warrior-diplomacy-intl-hnk/index.html

4 James Landale, “Coronavirus: China’s Army of Tough-Talking Diplomats,” May 12, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52562549

5 Ragul Palanisami, “Opinion – Making Sense of China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’,” Diplomacy, E-International Relations, August 10, 2020. https://www.eir.info/2020/08/10/opinion-making-sense-of-chinas-wolf-warrior-diplomacy/

6 Jammie Dettmer, “China's ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy Prompts International Backlash,” VOA, May 6, 2020. https://www.voanews.com/covid-19- pandemic/chinas-wolf-warrior-diplomacy-prompts-international-backlash

7 Chad Brown and Melinda Kolb, “Trump's Trade War Timeline: An Up-To-Date Guide,” 17 May 2021, Petersen Institute for International Economics, https://www.piie.com/blogs/trade-investment-policy-watch/trump-trade-war-china-date-guide

8 Bai Tiantian, “CPC Centralizes Foreign Affairs Decision-Making Power,” Global Times, March 22, 2018. https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1094795.shtml

9 Bai Tiantian, “CPC Centralizes,” March 22, 2018.

10 Cissy Zhou, “We’re Not Wolf Warriors, We’re Only Standing Up for China, says Senior Official,” South China Morning Post, December 5, 2020. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3112733/were-not-wolf-warriors-were-only-standing-china-says-senior?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&campaign=3112733

11 Cissy Zhou, “We’re Not Wolf Warriors,” December 5, 2020.

12 Ibid.

13 Zhiqun Zhu, “Interpreting China’s ‘Wolf-Warrior Diplomacy’,” The Diplomat, May 15, 2020. https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/interpreting-chinas-wolf-warriordiplomacy/6

14 M. Holmes, “The Future of Digital Diplomacy,” in Digital diplomacy: Theory and practice, ed. C. Bjola and M. Holmes (New York, NY: Routledge, 2015), 199–206.

15 I. Manor and E. Segev, “America’s Selfie: How the US Portrays Itself on Its Social Media Accounts,” in Digital diplomacy: Theory and practice, ed. C. Bjola and M. Holmes, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2015), 89–108.

16 I. Manor and E. Segev, America’s Selfie … (2015).

17 Lunden Ingrid, “Twitter Now Lets Everyone Limit Replies to Their Tweets,” TechCrunch, August 11, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/11/twitter-now-lets-everyone-limit-replies-to-their-tweets/

18 Corneliu Bjola, and Lu Jiang, “Social media and Public Diplomacy: A Comparative Analysis of the Digital Diplomatic Strategies of the EU, US and Japan in China,” In Digital Diplomacy, (Routledge, 2015), 85–102.

19 China donated 30,000 testing kits, 220,000 surgical masks, and 40,000 medical gloves through the International Department of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. A team of twelve doctors sponsored by the Chinese government also arrived in Zimbabwe with personal protective equipment and other medical supplies to help mitigate the spread of new cases. See 'China donates the second batch of anti-COVID-19 medical supplies to Zimbabwe,' Xinhua, June 12, 2020. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-06/12/c_139132327.htm

20 Graham Kajilwa, “Kenya Receives Coronavirus Test Kits Donation from Jack Ma,” The Standard, April 2020. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/localnews/2001365563/kenya-receives-coronavirus-test-kits-donation-from-jack-ma

21 Xinhua, “China Donates Second Batch of anti-COVID-19 Medical Supplies to Zimbabwe,” Global Times, June 12, 2020. https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191394.shtml

22 Xinhua, “China donates second batch..” June 12, 2020.

23 Columbus Mabika, “PPEs boost for Defence Forces,” The Herald, June 5, 2020.

https://www.herald.co.zw/ppes-boost-for-defence-forces/

24 This amount includes $10 million to ensure that 100,000 people in eight urban areas have access to adequate food supplies between August 2020 and January 2021. See “U.S. Government Assistance to Zimbabwe tops $3.5 billion since 1980,” U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe, October 23, 2020. https://zw.usembassy.gov/slide/u-sgovernment-assistance-to-zimbabwe-tops-3-5-billion-since-1980/

25 The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), donated 20 brand-new, state-of-the-art ventilators to Solidarity Trust Zimbabwe to help Zimbabweans fight COVID-19. See “The United States Provides 20 Ventilators to Zimbabwe to Respond to COVID-19,” U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe, January 21, 2020. https://zw.usembassy.gov/the-united-states-provides-20-ventilators-to-zimbabwe-to-respond-to-covid-19/

26 Adam George, “China’s Failed Pandemic Response in Africa,” Lawfare, May 24, 2020. https://www.lawfareblog.com/chinas-failed-pandemic-response-africa

27 Aaron L. Friedberg, “China’s Recent Assertiveness: Implications for The Future Of US-China Relations,” June 25, 2014. https://china.usc.edu/aaron-l-friedberg-%E2%80%9Cchina%E2%80%99s-recent-assertiveness-implications-future-us%E2%80%90china-relations%E2%80%9D-june-25-2014

28 Thomas J. Christensen, “The Advantages of an Assertive China: responding to Beijing's Abrasive Diplomacy,” Foreign Affairs (2011): 54–67.

29 Aaron L. Friedberg, “China’s Recent,” June 25, 2014.

30 Ibid.

31 Eric Orlander, “China’s New Twitter Diplomacy in Africa used to Challenge US Critics,” The Africa Report, December 19, 2019. https://www.theafricareport.com/21507/chinas-new-twitter-diplomacy-inafrica-used-to-challenge-us-critics/

32 Erik Naki, “China’s SA Ambassador says ‘evil’ Trump and the West are behind Hong Kong Riots,” The Citizen, December 12, 2019. https://citizen.co.za/news/news-world/2218624/chinas-sa-ambassador-saysevil-trump-and-the-west-are-behind-hong-kong-riots/

33 Eric Orlander, “China’s New Twitter,” December 19, 2019.

34 “China demands ‘fighting Spirit’ from Diplomats as Trade War, Hong Kong Protests Simmer,” Reuters, December 4, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-diplomacy-idUSKBN1Y80R8

35 Jevans Nyabiage, “China’s African Envoys Take Twitter Tips from Trump in PR Offensive,” Belfer Center, December 14, 2019. https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/chinas-african-envoys-take-twitter-tips-trump-pr-offensive

36 Derrick Bryson Taylor, “George Floyd Protests: A Timeline,” The New York Times, March 28, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd-protests-timeline.html

37 Eric Orlander, “China’s New Twitter,” December 19, 2019.

38 Guo Shaochun, “China-US Trade Friction: Dialogue, Cooperation is the Only Solution,” The Herald, June 6, 2019. https://www.herald.co.zw/china-us-trade-friction-dialogue-cooperation-is-the-only-solution/.

39 “China says Zimbabwe Aid Almost 40 Times Higher than Govt Figure,” Modern Ghana, November 19, 2020. https://www.modernghana.com/news/968563/china-says-zimbabwe-aidalmost-40-times-higher.html

40 Eric Orlander, “Chinese Embassy in Botswana Uses Facebook to Slam U.S,” China Africa Project, March 23, 2020. https://chinaafricaproject.com/2020/03/23/chinese-embassy-in-botswanauses-facebook-to-slam-u-s-over-failure-to-deliver-covid-19-donation/

41 Jessica Brandt and Bret Schafer, “How China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomats Use and Abuse Twitter,” Brookings, October 28, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/how-chinas-wolf-warrior-diplomatsuse-and-abuse-twitter/

42 Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 on Twitter: “This Article is Very Much Important to Each and Every One of Us,” March 13, 2020. https://twitter.com/zlj517/status/1238269193427906560

43 Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 on Twitter … (2020).

44 Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, “How China’s South Africa Ambassador became One of its top US Antagonists on Twitter,” Quartz Africa, March 21, 2020. https://qz.com/africa/1822755/trump-trolled-by-chinas-south-africaambassador-on-twitter/

45 Eric Orlander, “China’s New Twitter,” December 19, 2019.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ellison Shumba

Ellison Elliot Shumba holds an MA in Media Studies from the University of Witwatersrand and a BSc Honours in Media and Society Studies from Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. He has interests in digital diplomacy, comparative media studies and political communication. He is currently a Deputy Media Analysis Manager at Tangaza Africa Media.