OPINION: The return of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to Shenzhen did not quite live up to the theatrical possibilities of the occasion. It was night-time in Shenzhen under pandemic restrictions. So there were no hordes of beaming children, waving paper flowers and chanting a warm welcome. Red flags fluttering were unseen, though there was a red carpet. Instead, she received a bouquet of flowers from an adult in full PPE regalia while beaming local officials stood well back.

Meng played her part in the theatre of her homecoming with enthusiasm. She wore a dress the colour of the Chinese national flag. Her brief speech expressed boundless thanks to the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Through tears, she spoke of more than a thousand days of “suffering” during her US extradition hearing in Canada.

Apparent enthusiasm was undoubtedly coupled with real relief. The psychological pressure during those three years must have been tremendous, contemplating facing a US court on charges related to evasion of sanctions on Iran. She spent most of that time in her US$10 million mansion (one of two houses she owns in Vancouver), with staff. Conditions for her in detention were somewhat more bearable than the treatment of the Canadian two Michaels, held in Chinese prisons as potential hostages for almost as long.

Did China’s propagandists imagine that ordinary Chinese, watching the spectacle, would feel a similar swell of pride in their chests at this triumph of Chinese power and standing in the world? Words of suffering, “as an ordinary Chinese citizen”, from the mouth of a billionaire heiress have a certain irony for China’s millions struggling to feed and house their families.

Meng’s gushing gratitude perhaps served other purposes. Being a billionaire has become something of a liability in China since authorities at the last minute pulled the plug on the planned IPO of Alibaba’s Ant Group in the US. This signalled greater emphasis on state controls over the economy. Xi Jinping has spoken repeatedly in recent months of “a common prosperity for all”. Tech plutocrats, including Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent’s Pony Ma, have recently been falling over themselves to give away some of their wealth to charities that help the poor.

The spectacle of the performance of her patriotism and gratitude to the CCP should not obscure inklings of a shift in Beijing’s thinking on China’s international stance. Despite the flags and off-screen chanting on the Shenzhen tarmac, so-called Wolf Warrior advocates of Chinese assertion of influence may be on the wane.

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The Wolf Warriors seem only to have stoked an anti-China backlash around the world. The new Aukus alliance may be a paper tiger (to use a Maoist phrase). Boris Johnson, fumbling around to find a role for post-Brexit Britain, Joe Biden, seeking a distraction from Afghanistan, and Scott Morrison, wanting some submarines, joined forces in a show of anti-China sentiment. Leaders of The Quad – India, Japan, Australia and the US – met in Washington, DC last week. These developments are hardly positive results for wolf warriordom.

In a somewhat overlooked speech back in June to top Party officials, Xi Jinping spoke of toning down China’s assertiveness. China might get better results from a lower-key approach, attracting international interest rather than banging a drum of belligerence. Instead of rippling warrior muscles, warm words of concern might produce better outcomes. For COP26 in Glasgow, China is hoping to regain a leadership role in global efforts to tackle climate change.

Other developments suggest that diplomats and Party leaders have had second thoughts about wolf warriors and are willing to try more emollient methods to achieve China’s aims. The immediate release of the two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, without the usual ritual denials that they were hostages to Meng’s fortunes in a Vancouver court, can be understood in this light.

Cold War-style alarmist commentary on China’s covert influence has gained traction in New Zealand and Australia in recent years. Wolf warrior behaviour from Beijing merely confirmed these somewhat uninformed and misleading suspicions.

We need to make sure we are able to see the signs of some people in Beijing moving away from warrior strutting. Because the system has never worked very effectively, theatrical performances, such as Meng’s airport tears, have always carried considerable importance in China. They should not divert us from trying to understand what might really be happening behind the curtain.

Paul Clark is Chair Professor of Chinese at the University of Auckland