Up to 38 messages were posted on his X account by Zhu Jingyang, the ambassador of China in Colombia, while Colombian leader Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump were embroiled in the first diplomatic crisis of the new U.S. government. "We are experiencing the best moment in diplomatic relations between China and Colombia," Zhu wrote after Petro refused to allow U.S. military planes carrying deported Colombian immigrants to enter.
Zhu, who was a consul in Barcelona, is part of a group of Chinese officials dubbed by international diplomacy as wolf warriors, who use Western social media platforms, the same ones censored by Beijing, to engage in a type of diplomacy that responds in various languages with harshness and sarcasm to news and comments that go against China's interests.
"The demonic dragon of Western legends no longer fits China. We have the character of Po from the Kung Fu Panda saga: firm, persevering, resilient, and adaptable, not arrogant or aggressive, but when faced with brutal and unjust attacks, knows how to defend itself. China is no longer the poor country it was over 40 years ago, but the world's second-largest economy. Therefore, it is natural for it to assume greater responsibility and make greater contributions to world peace and the international order," Zhu stated during a conversation with this newspaper.
Following the clash between Washington and Bogotá, Petro's government announced the opening of a new commercial maritime route connecting the port of Buenaventura with Shanghai. Merchant ships departing from the Colombian dock will stop at the Peruvian port of Chancay, 70 kilometers from Peru, funded by China and personally inaugurated late last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who described the project as a new maritime corridor between China and Latin America. "This corridor will bring prosperity to Peru and the entire region," Xi stated.
A group of Latin American journalists have been invited this week by the Chinese government to attend the annual session of the giant Asian country's Parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), where Chinese leaders will try to take advantage of the global chaos caused by Trump. The propaganda channels of the ruling Communist Party have been trying to sell to the world the attractions of the political model of an authoritarian regime that sees a great opportunity to occupy the spaces left by Washington, which has just shaken the markets by reactivating tariffs against neighbors like Canada and Mexico, as well as against Beijing.
"We are prepared to lead the changes in a new multipolar order," Chinese Foreign Ministry officials state. The world's second-largest power is preparing to step up in the fight against climate change and in the technological race for artificial intelligence. Its soft power continues to advance in Latin America and Africa, while in the Middle East, it is getting closer to Arab nations rejecting Trump's plan in Gaza. It is even beginning to mend damaged relations with the European Union.
At the recent Munich Security Conference, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance launched a brutal ideological diatribe against European leaders, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi focused on presenting his country as a stable partner for Europe. "China will be the main beneficiary of Donald Trump's foreign policy, including his decision to align with Russia," said former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, days after the on-camera argument between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Monday, Washington announced the suspension of all military aid to Ukraine. "There are very good reasons to believe that China, by demonstrating patience and willingness to embrace other countries, including Ukraine, will greatly benefit from what is happening," Kuleba continued.
Somewhat closer to Beijing, in the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia, where the previous Biden Administration promised increased funding to counter China's growing influence, the Xi government is now expected to make headway in light of the suspension of the US foreign aid agency (USAID). In that region is Taiwan, a key security partner of the US, where leaders of the self-governing island are concerned about a possible decline in Washington's defense support amid continued strong military pressure from the Chinese army.
In Africa, where humanitarian workers have warned about the devastating impact that the slowdown in USAID assistance can have on many countries, China's diplomatic muscle has been courting developing countries for years with large infrastructure projects.
A few days ago, Chinese authorities announced a package of technological aid to several African countries, including satellites, space surveillance telescopes, and ground stations. What Beijing has not explained when announcing these donations is that Chinese authorities will have access to the data and images collected with this space technology.