"The world has been through so much turmoil this year that I doubt that even a fortune-teller could have predicted it. So the hard-won achievements of China's diplomacy cannot simply be defined as 'soft' or 'tough'," he said,

"We cannot say resolving problems through negotiation is a compromise which is 'softer' than military force. Being tough or not is never the diplomatic objective or standard to judge diplomatic accomplishments," said Le, adding that both "toughness" and "softness" are just paths to create a favorable environment for domestic stability and economic development.

"Wisdom is more important than the fist," he added.

More and more Chinese would like to express their opinion about diplomacy through the Net, especially on issues such as the $5.85 billion arm sales by the US to Taiwan and the South China Sea disputes. As for public requests for "showing our fist" or "teaching foreigners a lesson", experts said China's development and mutual dialogue are the best ways to solve problems.

As for US arm sales to Taiwan, China has to prepare for the long-term until China and the US become equal in national strength, said Yuan Peng, director of the American Studies Center at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"Besides reiterating our firm stance against it, what China needs to think about now is not immediate confrontation but how to optimize domestic economic structures and what are its inviolable interests to defend," he said.

The rules also apply to the issue of the South China Sea, where confrontation is not inevitable, an analyst said.

With economic and technological advantages, China can set aside the disputes and develop it jointly with countries in the area, said Yang Yi, a rear-admiral and former director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the People's Liberation Army National Defense University.

"Stressing domestic development, China can be confident about the final settlement of these disputes one day as its strength rapidly increases," he said.

Wu Jiao and Zheng Yangpeng contributed to this story.