The dove or the dog: China makes peace while baring teeth 

• baring teeth 露出牙齒
• military might 軍事實力
• intimidate 震懾
• drill 演習
• state visit 國是訪問
• jarring 刺耳的
• juxtaposition 並列
• shore up 增強
• charm offensive 具魅力的攻勢

Last Saturday, just hours after Xi Jinping sipped tea with Emmanuel Macron while calling for peace in Ukraine, fighter jets flew across the Taiwan Strait in a display of Chinese military might.

Aimed at intimidating Taiwan, China's drills began the day after a state visit by the French president that marked a high point in Chinese diplomacy.

The jarring juxtaposition was the latest example of the two faces China has presented to the world - a dovish international peacemaker, and an attack dog baring its teeth to defend what it sees as its territory.

While Beijing argues that a more balanced distribution of power would make the world safer, others see it as an attempt to lure countries away from America's orbit and shore up China's influence.

China often highlights US foreign policy failures in Iraq and Afghanistan while projecting itself as a country without blood on its hands, implying it is a better candidate to lead the world. A common line in Chinese rhetoric is that Communist China has never invaded another country nor engaged in proxy wars.