Dubbed the "fighting wolf"... China appoints its ambassador to Washington, Chen Gang, as its new foreign minister

China appointed its ambassador to the United States, Chen Gang, as its new foreign minister on Friday, Chinese state television announced.

Chen, who is known for his criticism of the West, replaces Wang Yi, who has been the face of Chinese diplomacy since 2013, while Wang Yi is likely to assume the highest position in the Communist Party's foreign policy.

The new 56-year-old minister has served as ambassador to Washington since 2021, and he aspires to return bilateral relations with the United States "to the right track."

But the official, who hails from Tianjin (north), has gained a reputation as a "fighting wolf", a nickname given to Chinese diplomats who respond strongly to the activities of the West, which they consider hostile to Beijing.

Agence France-Presse said that Chen's personality is similar to that of the Chinese ambassador in Paris, Le Chai, whose numerous "non-diplomatic" statements led to his summons to the French Foreign Ministry.

During his service as ambassador to Washington, Chen walked a fine line between defending Beijing's interests and showing a softer side to Chinese diplomacy.

Chen's appointment coincides with efforts by Chinese President Xi Jinping to mend strained relations with the United States and its allies.

In 2020, Chen Gang considered that the deterioration of China's image in recent years to an unprecedented level in the West is caused by the fact that Europeans and Americans, especially their media, will never accept the Chinese political system nor the country's economic growth.

The Chinese diplomat was for years one of the spokespersons for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

He also accompanied President Xi Jinping during his duties as protocol official before 2018, and also served as vice foreign minister between 2018 and 2021.

He was also responsible for Europe at the State Department, and defended his view that China did not need to take lessons from the West, repeatedly noting that it was a victim of it during the Opium Wars in the 19th century.

For his part, a spokesman for the US State Department said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who plans to visit Beijing in early 2023 with the decline in tension between the two countries, "expects a continuation of a fruitful working relationship with Foreign Minister Chen in his new position."

"The United States will continue to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China," he added.