Xue Jian

Xue Jian
薛剑
Consul-General of China in Osaka
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 2021
Preceded byHe Zhenliang
Personal details
BornJuly 1968 (age 58)
Lianshui, Jiangsu, China
PartyChinese Communist Party
EducationBeijing Foreign Studies University (B.A.)

Xue Jian (Chinese: 薛剑, romanized: Xuē Jiàn; born July 1968) is a Chinese diplomat, currently serving as consul general in Osaka, Japan.

Xue was born in Lianshui County. He has held several diplomatic positions after graduating from the Beijing Foreign Studies University. Due to his provocative comments on Twitter, Xue has been described as one of China's "wolf warrior" diplomats. He was also listed as one of the diplomats amplifying Russian propaganda narratives in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Xue also instigated the 2025 China-Japan diplomatic crisis after issuing a threatening response against a comment by Sanae Takaichi.

Early life and career

Xue was born in 1968 in Lianshui County in Huai'an, Jiangsu. He studied at the Department of Japanese at Beijing Foreign Studies University. According to NEWS Post Seven, Xue participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

After graduating from the university, Xue joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in 1992. Over the years, he held a series of important diplomatic positions, serving in the Department of Asian Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Japan. In 2006, he was appointed First Secretary at the Chinese Embassy in Japan and was later promoted to Counsellor. He subsequently served as Counsellor and Division Director in the Department of Asian Affairs within the ministry in 2012, and as Minister-Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Japan in 2014. In 2018, he returned to the Department of Asian Affairs as Counsellor and was promoted to Deputy Director-General of the department in 2019.

Consul General in Osaka

In November 2021, he was appointed Consul General of China in Osaka. During his tenure in Osaka, Xue has been a prolific user of Twitter, where he had more than 110,000 followers as of November 2025. Due to his provocative comments on Twitter, Xue has described as one of China's "wolf warrior" diplomats, including by a 2022 US Department of State report on diplomats amplifying Russian propaganda narratives in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to NEWS Post Seven, Xue had a better and more "flexible" reputation in person than on social media. It also reported that Xue once made more liberal statements in private, but became more hawkish in his 40s.

In June 2023, Xue referred to transgender people as "deformed".

2024 endorsement of Reiwa Shinsengumi party

On 25 October 2024, ahead of the 2024 Japanese general elections, Xue endorsed the left-wing party Reiwa Shinsengumi, posting a social media clip featuring the party's leader Taro Yamamoto. On 11 November, Independent National Diet member and former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Jin Matsubara submitted an official question asking for a response to the claim that Xue's post was a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

2025 China–Japan diplomatic crisis

In November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments about Japanese involvement in a war over Taiwan. Sharing a news article about her comments on the social media platform X, Xue stated, "the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off." The Japanese Foreign Ministry condemned the remarks, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara calling the post “extremely inappropriate”. Xue deleted the post. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Xue's post as a personal post “directed at the erroneous and dangerous remarks that attempt to separate Taiwan from China’s territory and advocate military intervention in the Taiwan Strait.”

At a reception held on 24 September 2026 for China's National Day, Xue said "Japan has become the world champion of anti-China and anti-China sentiment", adding relations between the two nations are "facing an unprecedentedly difficult phase" since the normalization of relations in 1972. He said the reason for strained relations was "the deeply rooted prejudice and contempt for China that has remained in Japanese society since the Meiji Restoration", arguing that China is a partner, not a threat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "薛剑总领事简历". Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Osaka. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "「汚い首は斬ってやる」発言の中国総領事のSNS暴言癖 かつては民主化運動にも参加したリベラル派が40代でタカ派の戦狼外交官に転向 "柔軟な外交官"の評判も" [The Chinese Consul General's social media abusive habit, including the "I'll cut off your dirty head" comment. A former liberal who participated in the democratization movement, he became a hawkish wolf warrior diplomat in his 40s, and also had a reputation as a "flexible diplomat."]. NEWS Post Seven (in Japanese). 17 November 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  3. ↑ "Chinese Consulate General in Osaka (Japan)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  4. ↑ Shiroyama, Hidemi (2022-04-25). "China's 'wolf warrior' diplomacy at a crossroads amid Ukraine crisis". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  5. ↑ "People's Republic of China Efforts to Amplify the Kremlin's Voice on Ukraine". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  6. ↑ "Chinese diplomat causes stir in Japan after calling trans people 'deformed'". South China Morning Post. 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  7. 1 2 Ryall, Julian (2024-11-28). "China's 'wolf warrior' envoy sparks row by backing Japanese leftist party". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  8. ↑ 薛剑XueJian [@xuejianosaka] (7 November 2025). "勝手に突っ込んできたその汚い首は一瞬の躊躇もなく斬ってやるしかない。覚悟が出来ているのか。😡" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ "Chinese diplomat threatens to cut off Japan leader's head". Newsweek. 2025-11-10. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  10. ↑ Geddie, John; Chen, Laurie (2025-11-10). "Japan rebukes Chinese diplomat as Taiwan furore escalates". Reuters.
  11. ↑ "Japan protests 'inappropriate' post by Chinese consul-general on Takaichi remark". NHK. 2025-11-10.
  12. 1 2 Mendelson, Allegra. "Chinese official threatens to behead Japanese PM over Taiwan row". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  13. 1 2 "Japan protests against China diplomat's violent threat over PM Takaichi's Taiwan remark". The Straits Times. 2025-11-10. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  14. 1 2 "Japan protests Chinese envoy's beheading post tied to Takaichi". The Asahi Shimbun. 2025-11-10.
  15. ↑ "China's 'Wolf Warrior' Diplomacy Returns With Threat Against Japan's Leader". The New York Times. 2025-11-13. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  16. ↑ "Japan and China exchange barbs after PM Takaichi's remarks over Taiwan". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  17. ↑ "Japan and China exchange barbs after prime minister's remarks about Taiwan". Politico. 2025-11-10. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  18. ↑ "日本は反中の世界チャンピオン　大阪総領事が主張" [Japan is the world champion of anti-China sentiment, claims the Consul General in Osaka.]. Kyodo News. 24 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.