Wang Yi must be the busiest foreign minister on the planet, and what keeps him occupied is burning fires. He is busy dousing the fires.

While in Europe, he had to put out the fire of anger of European people accusing China of spreading the coronavirus. He also tried to get Europe to join China to gang up against the U.S., but as it turned out, his effort backfired. And by sternly warning Mills Vystrcil, President of the Czech Republic’s senate, and his colleagues that they had to pay a price for visiting Taiwan, and with issues including the national security law in Hong Kong and the serious violations of human rights in Xinjiang, Wang came under widespread criticism from political leaders and critics in different countries. Eventually he returned home in disgrace. But it did not take

long before he set off to Moscow again and had talks with the foreign minister of India on border conflicts. A few days later, he flew to Ulaanbaatar to meet the Mongolian president, putting pressure on him and telling him not to interfere in China’s internal affairs. Wang was worried that the protests in Inner Mongolia sparked by China’s recent move to ban the Mongolian language in some school classes would spread to Mongolia and become an international issue.

All these meetings and press conferences were held under a very bad atmosphere. Either Wang and his foreign counterpart made scathing remarks or the other side simply pulled a long face and looked hostile to Wang. When seeing Wang arrive, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas put his hands in his pockets casually and appeared somewhat cold. At the press conference, he looked contemptuous as he picked up his face mask that was wrongly placed on Wang’s rostrum. Wang’s blood pressure might have gone up and he could hardly feel good. When asked by journalists how China would respond should Hong Kong people win the Nobel Peace Prize, Wang, looking unhappy, said: “I don’t want to see anyone politicizing the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Foreign ministers' trips abroad are usually meant to cement relations with other countries, strengthen international friendships and pave the way for future visits of their top leaders. Sometimes an overseas trip is meant to resolve conflicts. It is unusual for countries with diplomatic relations to bicker frequently and it is rare for a country to have to deal with so many burning fires in different places at the same time. The fact that Wang has been busy dousing fires indicates that Beijing is reaping what it has sown with its wolf warrior diplomacy, which is causing more and more problems. Wang is unable to tackle them alone and so Yang Jiechi, a Politburo member, now has to help douse the fires. Recently, China has some problems with certain African countries and Brazil because of the pandemic and One Belt One Road projects. Meanwhile, Thailand, Myanmar and Maldives have canceled some Belt and Road projects, and Wang should be visiting these countries. Yet he simply has no time.

According to the Japanese media, Wang is supposed to visit Japan next month and meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi. He may also visit the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Wang is in a rush to go to Japan because he wants to pave the way for Xi Jinping’s visit later. But after taking office, Suga first talked to South Korean and Indian leaders before talking to Xi on the phone for half an hour. During the conversation, Suga mentioned sensitive issues including Hong Kong’s human rights in Hong Kong and the Diaoyu Islands but said nothing about Xi’s trip. The message is all too clear. Wang’s upcoming meeting with Motegi probably will not be held in a tense atmosphere as in the case of the meetings with his Indian and European counterparts, but Japan has decided that Taiwan, India, Australia and Vietnam are its key allies and its strategic goal of curbing and containing China is clear. As such, what can Wang possibly achieve out of the trip?

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