“…Moreover, influencers in China demonstrate the potential of speaking for the true rather than state-defined identity of citizens, while performing the role between “a state propaganda vehicle and an authentic actor connecting with the grassroot public” (Li and Feng, 2022: 225). Their communication practices are confined by the country's sophisticated internet censorship (Lu and Zhao, 2018), as well as its networked culture and politics, which is loaded with playfulness, like “humor, parody, satire and jokes, in textual and multimedia forms” (Yang and Jiang, 2015: 1). There is a view in the international community that the upsurge of nationalistic attitudes on China's internet has led to President Xi Jinping's diplomatic assertiveness (Zhang et al, 2018).…”