European Union Diplomat Warns of China's "Battle of the Narratives"

Top EU diplomat warns to be on guard for CCP trying to spin the narrative as China offers medical aid to affected countries after other countries have been offering aid to China. This guy knows what's up.

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EU fires warning shot at China in coronavirus battle of the narratives
-The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on the bloc to be ready for a ‘struggle for influence’ with Beijing
-Comments reflect growing unease that Chinese aid is aimed at undermining European unity
Stuart Lau | 24 Mar, 2020

(South China Morning Post) - The European Union’s top diplomat has fired a warning shot at China’s “politics of generosity”, amid a growing sense of unease over Beijing’s targeted strategy to help certain European countries with medical supplies to fight Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

In an unusual choice of language, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on EU countries to stand ready for a “struggle for influence” in a “global battle of narratives”.

While Beijing has called its campaign to send millions of face masks to Europe – current epicentre of the pandemic – a show of solidarity and friendship, Borrell cast light on its geopolitical significance in a blog post released by EU External Action, the agency he leads.

“There is a global battle of narratives going on in which timing is a crucial factor,” he said, noting that the focus had shifted from Europe helping China to the other way round. “China is aggressively pushing the message that, unlike the US, it is a responsible and reliable partner.

“In the battle of narratives we have also seen attempts to discredit the EU as such and some instances where Europeans have been stigmatised as if all were carriers of the virus.

“The point for Europe is this: we can be sure that perceptions will change again as the outbreak and our response to it evolves. But we must be aware there is a geopolitical component including a struggle for influence through spinning and the ‘politics of generosity’,” Borrell said...

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Last Edited by Fist in the Box on 03/26/2020 10:50 AM