Proving once again that there's much more to Kung Fu flix than most people think....

China is more ‘Kung Fu Panda’ than ‘Crouching Tiger’: diplomat
Published: Nov 14, 2014 8:21 a.m. ET


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Jack Black arrives at the "Kung Fu Panda 2" premiere in Los Angeles in 2011.

By Laura He Asia markets reporter

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — China hopes to show the world that it is a peace-loving “Kung Fu panda” when it comes to international relations.

Beijing’s envoy to the U.K., Liu Xiaoming, said recently that his country is a “Kung Fu Panda fighting for justice,” referring to the lovable ursine warrior in the DreamWorks Animation DWA, -14.95% cartoon franchise, according to a report Thursday in the official newspaper People’s Daily.

China is “a participant, a constructor and maintainer of the current international system,” not “a troublemaker or wrecker,” Liu reportedly said.

The Chinese ambassador to London went on to describe the People’s Republic as “a peaceful, likeable, and civilized lion,” rather than “an elephant in a china shop” or a “crouching tiger and hidden dragon” awaiting its “chance to seek revenge” — apparently referencing the Oscar-winning martial-arts film of the same name, which is set to have a Netflix-produced NFLX, -1.08% sequel made.

Liu made the remarks while taking questions fromRoyal College of Defense Studies students and a group of senior U.K. military officers, the paper reported.

In an apparent dig at the U.S. during those remarks, Liu reportedly promised China wouldn’t pursue an Asian version of the Monroe Doctrine, the 19th-century U.S. policy of opposing European interference in the Americas.