China’s most famous diplomatic “warrior wolf”, Lu Shaye, currently based in Paris, is to be recalled to Beijing where, according to our sources, he will take up a junior post.

This is the Chinese authorities’ way of disowning this controversial figure, who has stirred up a great deal of controversy during the four years he has spent at the head of the Chinese embassy in Paris. He has been summoned several times to the Quai d’Orsay, following extremely aggressive statements against French journalists and researchers. He also stirred up controversy after making statements questioning whether Crimea belonged to Ukraine, which earned him an official repudiation from Beijing.