Serbian President: "The only country that can help us is China."
“By now, you all understood that European solidarity does not exist. That was a fairy tale on paper. I believe in my brother and friend Xi Jinping, and I believe in Chinese help."
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“By now, you all understood that European solidarity does not exist. That was a fairy tale on paper. I believe in my brother and friend Xi Jinping, and I believe in Chinese help."
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Seems a lot of this is based on China’s ability to provide the material goods needed to fight the crisis. 2/
And as Ben reminds us, China has rather close ties to Serbia 4/
It's pretty remarkable that China may be able to position itself as the global leader in the coronavirus fight after (1) covering up the disease; (2) lying about its origins; (3) buying up surplus supplies; and (4) delaying the intl response.
And yet...
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And yet...
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China is accusing the US military of spreading coronavirus.
This isn't leadership.
Per @JoshuaDummer, its MFA spokesman and its diplomats in the Maldives, Botswana, South Africa, Suriname, Iran, France, Jordan, Chad, Uganda, Pakistan, Cameroon, etc echoed this lie.
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This isn't leadership.
Per @JoshuaDummer, its MFA spokesman and its diplomats in the Maldives, Botswana, South Africa, Suriname, Iran, France, Jordan, Chad, Uganda, Pakistan, Cameroon, etc echoed this lie.
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An addendum. I've been following the "China as a public goods provider" story for much of the crisis *not* to amplify PRC propaganda but to alert US analysts and scholars of the high stakes for the US global position.
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Just five years ago the US organized the Ebola response.
Now, China is pushing an open door because the US is AWOL.
Whether China succeeds in its desire to claim crisis leadership will ultimately be determined more by policy in DC, not Beijing. We still have agency.
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Now, China is pushing an open door because the US is AWOL.
Whether China succeeds in its desire to claim crisis leadership will ultimately be determined more by policy in DC, not Beijing. We still have agency.
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Coda on the Serbia story:
"Serbia announced last night that the first foreign aid to combat the COVID-19 virus arrived in Serbia from the China....donated by the Chinese humanitarian organisation Mammoth Fondation."
srbija.gov.rs/vest/en/151479…
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"Serbia announced last night that the first foreign aid to combat the COVID-19 virus arrived in Serbia from the China....donated by the Chinese humanitarian organisation Mammoth Fondation."
srbija.gov.rs/vest/en/151479…
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