A top Chinese diplomat appeared to suggest that the United States carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a tweet on Tuesday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian shared a “What people think I do” meme on Twitter featuring various scenes of destruction from U.S. wars in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Pakistan, the former Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. A corresponding caption alleges that the scene is what each country thinks the U.S. does. However, in the slot for “What I actually do,” an image of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers is shown, suggesting that the U.S. itself carried out the 9/11 attacks.
“Everyone needs a clear understanding of himself. So does a nation,” Zhao captioned the image.
Everyone needs a clear understanding of himself.
So does a nation. pic.twitter.com/mDrur19hhg— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) August 16, 2022
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The Chinese Embassy did not respond to requests asking what the Chinese position is toward possible U.S. government involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
Zhao is one of the main proponents of what is known as “wolf warrior diplomacy,” referring to a “jingoistic Chinese film franchise,” according to the Brookings Institution. This style of diplomacy features aggressive and controversial rhetoric from Chinese diplomats, frequently utilizing conspiracy theories to place blame on and troll Western governments.
These diplomats make especially effective use of Twitter, Zhao’s main outlet. The Brookings Institution documented this sudden shift as starting in 2020. Previously, China’s use of the social media platform was limited to a few isolated embassies. By the end of 2020, however, the Chinese presence on Twitter had quadrupled, with 170 different Chinese diplomats frequently bickering with Western governments, particularly regarding COVID-19, foreign policy, and race relations.
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Zhao’s Twitter feed is filled with accusations of U.S. war crimes and abuses, conspiracy theories revolving around Western governments and allies, support for Russia, frequent criticism of Japan, and denunciations of Taiwanese sovereignty. The top diplomat has gotten into several previous high-profile squabbles with U.S. officials, such as an incident in 2019 in which former national security adviser Susan Rice called him a “racist disgrace” in response to tweets talking about race relations in Washington, D.C., according to CNN.
Despite Chinese diplomats’ proficient use of Twitter, the social media outlet is banned in China.
