Wall Street Journal reports on the Chinese microblogosphere’s reactions to new US Ambassador to China’s humble stance.

Yet another American politician has caused a stir online after photos of him doing shocking things surfaced on a microblogging service.

The politician: newly sworn-in China envoy Gary Locke. The microblogging service: China’s Sina Weibo.

The surprising behavior: Buying his own coffee and carrying his own luggage before flying to Beijing.

In a country where government officials are routinely pilloried for being lazy and imperious, the pictures of Mr. Locke humbly laboring on his own behalf have turned the ambassador into something of a hero.

The most popular image, posted to Weibo on Friday by Tang Chaohui, the CEO of an advertising software company called adSage, shows Mr. Locke and his 7-year-old daughter, Madeline, ordering a coffee at a Starbucks in the Seattle Airport. In a separate posting, Mr. Tang wrote that Mr. Locke tried to use a coupon but was rebuffed by Starbucks staff. “The ambassador didn’t get mad, but instead smiled, took it back and pulled out his credit card. This American barista didn’t give the Ambassador to China an ounce of face.”

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Of course, as the representative of China’s largest debtor at a time of less-than-perfect sovereign credit ratings, Mr. Locke is likely to maintain a humble stance for the foreseeable future.

Indeed, in a news conference on Sunday – his first since arriving in Beijing – the new ambassador offered a statement that could be read as the diplomatic equivalent of carrying one’s own backpack. The fact that U.S. Treasurys are still finding buyers despite this month’s historic S&P downgrade, he said, was “a clear indication that investment in the United States is safe, secure and that the economy, while having its challenges, is still strong.”