TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) called on ambassadors and diplomats to establish closer ties with other nations during a meeting in Beijing on Friday (Dec. 29).
Xi asked the envoys to "be adept at making broader and deeper friendships" by winning hearts and minds on a local level. He said diplomats should be more loyal, skilled, and disciplined at their jobs and they should champion the national cause. They should "use internationalized language and methods to tell China's story better,” he added.
Xi also urged them to "continuously break new ground for major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics."
Xi’s comments come as China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy, an aggressive policy meant to counter anti-China hostility from the West, has largely failed to raise the country’s international profile and foster friendships between Beijing and the world. Many nations, such as Lithuania and Australia, have seen China’s economic coercion firsthand and are thus less likely to deepen ties with the authoritarian country.
China’s approach to diplomacy is a vast difference from Taiwan’s more amiable strategy. Although President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is soon stepping down from her second term, the three presidential candidates have said they would implement foreign policies similar to Tsai’s.
Presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has said he would follow Tsai’s international relations strategy while advocating for a more conciliatory approach toward China. Democratic Progressive Party’s Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said he would “lead a new era of values-based diplomacy” to boost international cooperation and create new links with global partners.
Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) of the Kuomintang said he would implement a policy focused on deterrence, dialogue, and de-escalation. Through this framework, Hou said he seeks to integrate cross-strait dialogue with deterrence.
Since Tsai’s first term in 2016, Taiwan has followed an approach based on shared values and people-to-people ties. During the height of the pandemic, the nation launched the “Taiwan can help” model of cooperation, demonstrating its ability to contribute to the world in many facets.
