Sparked by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian's remarks and release on November 30, of a photograph found objectionable by the Australian Government, angry rhetoric between the two escalated with calls in Australia for a boycott of Chinese goods. Hu Xijin, Editor-in-Chief of Global Times, reacted on Twitter on November 30 and said: "Australia is "urban-rural fringe" of Western civilization where gangsters roamed. If the US wants to do something bad, it seeks thugs in such a place. Australian army's killing of Afghan civilians and it's attitude prove Canberra's barbarism". In a subsequent Tweet on December 1 he said: "So far, no opinion leader, let alone political figure, in China, has called for boycotting Australian products. Australia extremely lacks a proper understanding of itself. It can’t even be counted as a paper tiger, it’s only a paper cat."
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