During Xi Jinping’s first decade as CCP general secretary and chairman of state, Beijing’s approach to Australia grew increasingly blunt and confrontational, a style known as “wolf warrior diplomacy.” More recently, Chinese diplomats have shifted to a quieter, more self-assured form of subnational diplomacy.
torsdag 15. oktober 2026
Wolf Warriors in Sheep’s Clothing: China’s New Subnational Diplomacy in Australia
For the government of China, diplomacy is more than simply a means of cultivating international relationships and advancing national interests. It is also an instrument of regime maintenance. In this capacity it can take the form of coercive interventions in the domestic affairs of other states with the aim of suppressing conduct or critique considered hostile to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Deploying diplomatic agents to secure compliance with CCP objectives is in fact a significant feature of China’s subnational relations with local governments and communities in Australia.
During Xi Jinping’s first decade as CCP general secretary and chairman of state, Beijing’s approach to Australia grew increasingly blunt and confrontational, a style known as “wolf warrior diplomacy.” More recently, Chinese diplomats have shifted to a quieter, more self-assured form of subnational diplomacy.
During Xi Jinping’s first decade as CCP general secretary and chairman of state, Beijing’s approach to Australia grew increasingly blunt and confrontational, a style known as “wolf warrior diplomacy.” More recently, Chinese diplomats have shifted to a quieter, more self-assured form of subnational diplomacy.