The European Union’s (EU) top diplomat recently highlighted Beijing’s attempts to divert global attention away from its initial coverup of the CCP virus outbreak.
Amid a “global battle of narratives...we need to defend Europe against its detractors,” he said.
Borrell described how Beijing’s narrative has evolved since the outbreak began.
“In January, the dominant framing was of this being a local crisis in Hubei province, aggravated by the coverup of crucial information by Chinese party officials,” he said.
At that time, “Europe was sending a lot of medical equipment to help Chinese authorities that were overwhelmed,” Borrell noted.
However, since the virus has spread rapidly overseas, in particular in Europe, the roles have appeared to reverse.
“China is aggressively pushing the message that, unlike the U.S., it is a responsible and reliable partner,” he said.
The Chinese regime and its state-controlled media outlets have touted its sending of medical experts and supplies—some of which were actually purchases under export agreements rather than donations—to hard-hit European countries, such as Italy, Spain, and France.
Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia and director of the China Power Project at Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, previously told The Epoch Times that such initiatives formed part of Beijing’s plan to “advance its goal of leading global governance reform and promote the Chinese model as an option for developing countries to copy.”
If Beijing successfully portrays itself to be handling the crisis effectively, the regime “can further undermine the appeal of democracy and capitalism around the world,” she said.
