(FINANCIAL TIMES) - Mr Zhao Lijian thrives on controversy. Aggressive promotion of China's interests is expected for a foreign ministry spokesman, but Mr Zhao has pioneered an extreme approach by becoming a populist provocateur who owes his career to a willingness to shock, needle and troll Beijing's critics on Twitter.

For Beijing, he has crystallised a model for diplomacy with a jagged edge and driven the shift away from an older generation of more conservative and restrained engagement, analysts said.