‘Like The PLA, Chinese Diplomats Are Expected To Be Loyal To The Party’

NEW DELHI: In recent years, ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy has come to be associated with aggressive Chinese diplomats who have fought, argued, and tried to bully foreign governments, media personnel, think tank practitioners and politicians abroad. Their behaviour is complete anti-thesis of what trained and practicing diplomats generally do. Instead of winning friends and influencing people, Chinese diplomats are prone to alienate them. What is the reason? Is it rooted in China’s view about itself? Or is it born out new-found wealth and dominance. In his recently released book China’s civilian Army, journalist-author Peter Martin traces the history of the People’s Republic of China’s diplomatic playbook. He goes back in time to uncover the culture and tradition that gets inculcated among new recruits by the CCP leadership and the way they are expected to function and advocate China’s interests across the Globe. Martin is in conversation with Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale on our weekly feature Books Corner.