Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry who has been singled out as one of Beijing’s most vocal “war wolf” diplomats, has been reassigned to a position out of the public eye, Reuters reported.

Zhao, 50, has been appointed deputy head of the Department of Border and Ocean Affairs, according to an announcement on the ministry’s website on Monday.

Zhao became one of Beijing’s foreign ministry spokespersons in 2020 after previously serving at Beijing’s diplomatic mission in Pakistan, where he attracted a large following on Twitter as well as numerous media reports. against the United States.

His belligerent style has made him the best-known practitioner of what has come to be known as Beijing’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy, a name inspired by the country’s popular film franchise that marks a departure from China’s previously reserved style in its diplomatic relations.

In one of his most controversial social media posts, Zhao wrote in March 2020 that the United States military may have brought the coronavirus to the city of Wuhan.

Zhao, who often held the foreign ministry’s daily press briefings in Beijing, has nearly two million followers on Twitter.

Is Zhao’s replacement a sign of detente between China and the US?

Neither Zhao nor China’s foreign ministry responded to Reuters’ request for comment on his transfer.

But the Beijing government last month promoted Yin Gang, its ambassador to Washington and a trusted adviser to President Xi Jinping, to foreign minister as China and the United States seek to stabilize their turbulent relationship.

In November, Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met for the first time since a Democrat was elected to office, seeking to restore dialogue between the two great powers.

The two leaders shook hands in front of reporters at a hotel on the island of Bali ahead of the G20 summit, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was absent.

The meeting came amid several topics that put the two countries at odds, including Beijing’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trade, the human rights situation in Xinjiang or the North Korea-related file.