I know we& #39;re all supposed to assume that "wolf warrior" diplomacy is just about domestic political signalling, but what if being pugilistic with "the west" is also meant to help position China as a leader of non-western states? Criticizing the west doesn& #39;t just resonate in China.

The messages aren& #39;t convincing so we assume they must be for a diff audience. Maybe it& #39;s some mixture of (1) Chinese elite & popular nationalistic audience; (2) non-western audience to display leadership; (3) elite western audience to signal punishment for stepping out of line.

The "it& #39;s mostly to please the bosses" argument has a tinge of "it& #39;s just cheap talk" to it, but forgets that there are reasons the bosses are sending the signals that they want those messages out there. I think it& #39;s more than cheap talk and needs further study.

Finally, I& #39;d like to note that the current generation wolf has evolved to call the lamb a wolf. That& #39;s just science and you can& #39;t argue with it.

I& #39;m late to the @DSORennie column this week but he makes similar points to the ones I make in this thread https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👆" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben">but better. https://www.economist.com/china/2021/04/03/china-is-betting-that-the-west-is-in-irreversible-decline">https://www.economist.com/china/202...