The Chinese Communist Party’s “wolf warrior" diplomacy — threatening to impose sanctions in a combative way against the United States, Europe, Japan and others that object to its systems and policies — represents Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aim to strengthen a cohesive force within his country.
The more assertive style taken by the party is stimulating nationalism in China, which has emerged from the “century of humiliation” — losing both its territory and sovereignty to the West and Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries — into one of the great powers of today.
Nevertheless, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, confrontation between democratic states — including the U.S., Europe and Japan — and authoritarian states centered around China and Russia has become clearer, with U.S. President Joe Biden saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “should no longer stay in power.”