China defends 'fighting spirit' of Xi's foreign policy

Chinese diplomats in the U.K. are under scrutiny this week after a Hong Kong protester was seen being dragged into the Chinese consulate in Manchester on Sunday and assaulted

China on Thursday defended its more assertive approach to foreign policy taken under President Xi Jinping and said its diplomats will "dare to fight" despite criticism that its so-called Wolf Warrior stance can backfire on the global stage.

Chinese diplomats in the U. K. are under scrutiny this week after a Hong Kong protester was seen being dragged into the Chinese consulate in Manchester on Sunday and assaulted in an incident which the police are investigating.

"To dare to fight is the spiritual character of Chinese diplomacy," China's vice foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu, told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday on the sidelines of the ruling Communist Party's twice-a-decade congress.

"Chinese diplomacy will continue to display fighting spirit, improve our ability to fight, always stand ready at the frontline to protect our national interest and dignity," he added.

Britain on Tuesday summoned China's charge d'affaires in London to explain what had happened at the consulate on Sunday, with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly saying the protest, which involved 30 to 40 people including Hong Kong citizens now resident in Britain, had been peaceful and legal.

China has disputed this and other critical accounts of its diplomats' actions during events which took place at a demonstration on Sunday against Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr. Xi is widely expected to secure a precedent-breaking third leadership term at the 20th party congress, which ends this weekend.