'LOL!': China's informal, confrontational Twitter diplomacy

?Diplomats have been speaking out on Twitter to prove their loyalty to President Xi Jinping, analysts say. [AFP / Noel Celis]

Chinese diplomacy has found a new voice on Twitter -- and it's not entirely diplomatic.

The communist government has recently embraced the social media platform -- despite blocking it within China -- deploying its foreign ministry and a growing army of diplomats to tout or defend its policies to a global audience.