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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 15 april 2020
China's 'mask diplomacy' wins support in Eastern Europe

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC interview last week that the
Associated Press bloc was not willing to sell
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — or provide breathing ma-
When China's first shipment chines to cope with the
of coronavirus medical aid medical crisis. On Tuesday,
landed in Belgrade, the Vucic's office said he had
president of Serbia was a phone conversation with
there to kiss the Chinese the Chinese leader during
flag. In Hungary, officials which he praised Beijing for
have played down assis- "the brotherly care for the
tance from the European citizens of Serbia."
Union and praised Beijing's "When the first plane land-
help. In the Czech Repub- ed at Belgrade airport on
lic, its president says that March 21 with the great
only China was there dur- Chinese help in medical
ing the virus spread. equipment and material,
While elsewhere China accompanied by Chinese
tries to polish an image experts, the Serbs were
tarnished by its initial han- awakened with the new
dling of the coronavirus optimism as they knew that
outbreak, Beijing has no in this fight they will not be
problem maintaining its alone," the statement said.
hard-won influence in parts Serbia and Hungary have
of Eastern Europe, where it In this April 13, 2020, photo, a man wearing a face mask leaves a municipal office building been important gateways
battles for clout with the EU decorated with billboard showing Serbian and Chinese flags reading: "Iron friends, together in to Europe for China through
as well as with Russia. good and evil!" prior a curfew set up to help limit the spread of the new coronavirus in Belgrade, its infrastructure and invest-
China was criticized in the Serbia. ment projects.
West for its early mishan- Associated Press. China's investments in Ser-
dling of the crisis due to tractors." Chinese officials not exist. Only China can cial and economic recov- bia include an estimated
politically motivated foot- have repeatedly rejected help," Vucic said last month ery. The EU also has given $6 billion in loans for high-
dragging while the virus claims that Beijing seeks while announcing a nation- 2 million euros to help pay ways, railroads and power
raced through a province political gains by giving the wide state of emergency for shipping more than 280 plants as well as contracts
and its capital, Wuhan. aid, saying the allegations that gave him expanded tons of emergency medi- for a 5-G network and fa-
Now it is seeking to change result from deep-rooted powers in the health crisis. cal supplies that Serbia cial recognition surveil-
perceptions through "mask misperceptions of China's The EU's executive arm, the bought. lance equipment. U.S. of-
diplomacy" — a mix of soft goals in the West. European Commission, has Responding to criticism ficials warned of Beijing's
power policy, political mes- Chinese Foreign Ministry pledged 15 million euros from some European offi- "debt trap" diplomacy that
saging and aid shipments spokeswoman Hua Chu- in immediate support for cials that he praised China could cost them their sov-
— to portray Beijing as a nying said Beijing is doing Serbia's health sector, plus while ignoring the EU aid, ereignty if they fail to ser-
generous and efficient ally. what it can "to help those 78.4 million euros for its so- Vucic insisted in a state TV vice the loans.q
China for years has been countries and people af-
and economic influence guard people's lives and IMF sees Latin America suffering worst
political fected ... to save and safe-
increasing
its
in southeastern Europe health to the greatest ex- contraction on record
through its Belt and Road tent across the world."
global investment projects. In Serbia, a candidate for
Its image-polishing after EU membership, officials By DAVID BILLER Economic Commission poorer result for Mexico
the outbreak found fertile and state-controlled media Associated Press for Latin America and the than 1995, the year of the
ground in places like Serbia have played down the mil- RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Caribbean projected eco- peso crisis that followed
and Hungary, whose popu- lions of euros in grants and The International Monetary nomic activity would fall by sudden currency devalua-
list leaders nurture close ties loans from Brussels while Fund on Tuesday fore- 1.8% to 4%. tion.
with Beijing or Moscow. praising Chinese deliver- cast the economy of Latin The IMF's forecast includes In its report, the IMF con-
The aid shipments also ies, donations and sales of America and the Carib- a 5.3% plunge in Brazil. That cedes there is "extreme
drew praise in Italy, Spain, supplies. Opposition groups bean will contract 5.2% in would be the deepest sin- uncertainty" around its
the Netherlands, Slovakia have demanded the Chi- 2020 as activity grinds to a gle-year tumble since at outlook for global growth,
and the Czech Republic, nese aid be disclosed and halt due to the spread of least 1901, when national which could be the big-
although some virus test stacked up against the EU's the new coronavirus. accounts data from the gest contraction since the
kits and face masks bought apparently much larger A recession of that mag- government's economics Great Depression of the
from Chinese companies assistance, but those calls nitude would be the worst institute begin. Brazil con- 1930's, and says exact fall-
didn't meet local stan- have been ignored. since at least 1980, the first tracted 2% in 1918, the out depends on difficult-
dards. The pro-China narrative year in the IMF's World Eco- year of the Spanish flu pan- to-predict factors including
"We must be aware there is included billboards sup- nomic Outlook database. demic, according to the the path of the pandemic's
a geopolitical component, porting Chinese President For comparison, the global institute. spread, efficacy of con-
including a struggle for in- Xi Jinping, whom Serbian financial crisis caused a The IMF's 6.6% contraction tainment efforts, extent of
fluence, through spinning President Aleksandar Vu- regional recession in 2009 forecast for Mexico is the supply disruptions, tighten-
and the politics of gen- cic routinely describes as that was less than half as worst among major coun- ing in global financial con-
erosity," EU's top foreign his "brother," as well as sug- deep as the one the IMF tries in the region except ditions and shifts in consum-
policy official Josep Borrell gestions that a monument predicts for this year. Venezuela, which was al- ers' behavior.
recently wrote in a blog, be erected to honor Bel- The IMF report follows esti- ready in the throes of a Ecuador will also be par-
referring to China. "Armed grade's friendship with Bei- mates by the World Bank of multi-year depression be- ticularly hard hit, with a de-
with facts, we need to de- jing. a 4.6% contraction for the fore onset of the pandem- cline of 6.3%, the multilater-
fend Europe against its de- "European solidarity does region this year. The U.N.'s ic. That would be an even al lender said in its report.q