Chinese Foreign Ministry Spox Trolls West, Reveals What ‘International Community’ Means to MSM

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has made a name for himself trolling the US online, offering an uncharacteristically acerbic, spirited and self-assured approach to diplomacy matched occasionally only by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and former Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Zhao Lijian has struck again, plucking a series of maps and illustrations from his apparent arsenal of memes and posting them to Twitter. Among them is a droll explanation of what “The International Community” means to Western mainstream corporate media.

“What does ‘International Community’ mean?” Zhao pondered in a post on Wednesday, with a map of the world painted red showing what it really means, and a second map listing only the US, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand revealing what it means “according to Western mainstream media.”

What does "International Community" mean? pic.twitter.com/qmFQLE0Lga

— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) July 13, 2022

“With about 850 bases in 90 countries worldwide, US military intervention is everywhere,” Zhao wrote in a follow-up tweet, featuring a map showing where US bases are situated.

In a third tweet the same day, Zhao wrote about “America’s Gift to Eurasia,” featuring an illustration showing the deadly consequences of decades of US air and missile strikes across countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

It’s unclear whether there was any rhyme or reason behind the timing of this particular string of tweets. The 49-year-old diplomat, who was appointed deputy director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s information department in 2019, has made a name for himself on Twitter as a master of the art of troll, often responding to Western media or officials’ statements with witty and sarcastic memes.

How Ironic... pic.twitter.com/rFWnjWmmmn

— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) July 5, 2022

Zhao first picked up on the power of Twitter trolling while serving as minister counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan between 2015 and 2019. He joined the platform in 2010. The official’s regular trolling activities have turned him into somewhat of a media celebrity, with the New York Times, Buzzfeed News and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation running long exposés about him.

Zhao’s following exploded in March 2020, after he alleged that the US military may have deliberately spread COVID-19 in China during the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan. The State Department summoned China’s ambassador to the US over the tweet, while Western officials and media dismissed it as “disinformation” and Twitter slapped the post with a “Stay informed: Get the facts about COVID-19” notice.

The diplomat’s Twitter activities aren’t limited to trolling, with the spokesman occasionally spicing things up with videos of cuddly animals, as well as photos and videos of Chinese nature, the nation’s economic achievements, and general news.