China, through information and investments in various fields, is spreading its propaganda in the Western Balkans. Serbia and the Republika Srpska region in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the ones most exposed to and influenced by Chinese propaganda.
Chinese propaganda tools and tactics
China has used a variety of tools and tactics to influence media narratives about China and international issues of great interest to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Ana Krstinovska, director of the ESTIMA Institute in North Macedonia and author of several articles regarding Chinese influence in the Western Balkans, in an interview with Geopost, emphasizes: characteristics of Chinese propagandaAccording to her, China “uses much less disinformation and relies much more on propaganda, that is, spreading biased or largely embellished information about China and what China is doing and on the other hand eliminating all criticism that can be addressed to China or its actions in the region.”
Mirjana Najčevska, a human rights expert, emphasizes the fact that limited information on developments in China, including political and social problems, create space for Chinese propaganda.
The most prominent strategies include the presence of Chinese state media in local languages, cooperation between public broadcasters, the use of local bodies as proxies, and the co-optation of local journalists. While these strategies do not represent a major threat to freedom of speech or the press, they still aim to stifle diversity of views and opinions on China’s domestic affairs and global footprint, to mitigate and where possible, eliminate criticism, and to present a – embellished and distorted – portrayal of China, ultimately shaping public perceptions.
China’s most important propaganda vehicle is China Radio International (CRI), which operates in Albanian, Serbian, and Croatian, languages widely spoken across borders in the Western Balkans. More than a radio frequency, it includes websites and social media accounts that provide in-depth analysis of China’s domestic, local, and international developments from a Chinese perspective, usually aimed at countering Western arguments and positions. China Global Television Network (CGTN) is also present in most countries through cable and digital operators, as well as on social media with profiles in local languages.
Finally, bilateral cooperation agreements located in all countries of the region open the opportunity for local journalists, editors and media professionals to visit China, attend various training programs and travel to regions such as Xinjiang or Tibet. The trips aim to show them the side of China that the Chinese government wants them to see, in order to encourage them to write and “debunk” Western arguments on these sensitive issues.
Chinese propaganda in Albania and Kosovo
Despite the fact that Albania has made its pro-Western position clear, China continues to disseminate its propaganda in Albania through media controlled by the People's Republic of China.
While there are no local Chinese-owned media outlets or known pro-China editorial policies, there are private media outlets in some of the countries that can be singled out for their pro-China content. In the case of Albania, it is Radio Ejani, which broadcasts in the two main cities of Tirana and Durrës, providing information about China. But the international broadcaster CRI also continues to publish content in Albanian. At the same time, the Albanian Telegraphic Agency and Albanian Radio Television have signed agreements collaboration and content sharing with sister agencies in China, allowing them to present films, documentaries, children's films and other content that highlight the historical ties between the two countries or portray China in an exclusive way.
China Radio International (CRI) in addition to conveying political messages, it also strives to to demonstrate friendship between the two peoples and the close historical ties, through the stories of Chinese people who have worked or visited Albania and Albanians in China.
Radio Come, labeled by the social network as a Chinese state-controlled media outlet, offers Albanian-speaking audiences content on politics, economics, tourism, international developments from a Chinese perspective, customs and culture, the development and transformation of Chinese metropolises over the years, and traditional Chinese medicine.
In an analysis published on faktoje.al, Ard Pulaj shows how China also uses learning Chinese to spread its propaganda by offering a concrete example. China Radio International (also known as CRI Albanian), in its Chinese language learning section, dated August 22, 2022 published online learning the word "farce". The choice of this word was due to the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to the Taiwan region of China, which is considered a reckless and provocative act by China. So, in this case, teaching the meaning of "farce" in Chinese to the Albanian public also meant Beijing's official stance towards the visit of the senior American politician to Taiwan.
China, through its mass communication channels, also focuses on promoting the commercial aspect related to Albania. The narrative of trade relations between China and Albania is presented on the basis of Chinese interests, emphasizing the fact that exports with EU countries have decreased while those with China have increased.
Lutfi Dervishi, a lecturer in investigative journalism, explains that China is not involved in Albania's internal affairs, but that the narrative is promoted that China is a rising power, the promotion of the 'One Belt One Road' project, the promotion of technological developments.
As for Kosovo, China's position on the Kosovo issue has been consistent over the years. China's official position is that it respects Serbia's territorial integrity, and Chinese state media still describes Kosovo as "an autonomous province" under Serbian sovereignty. Therefore, for China, the Kosovo issue is very similar to the Taiwan issue.
in reportThe US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI)’s “Information Integrity in Kosovo” report notes that China is present in the region and has sponsored positive articles about China’s success. The report also notes that China has also promoted numerous stories about its culture and travel opportunities.
The report titled "Vortex of Lies", compiled by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), lists Chinese narratives in Kosovo. The first point is promoting the United States as something bad and as a country with high crime and problems with the rule of law. The second point is promoting information about health in China, while the third is promoting China as a developed country whose products should be bought.
President Aleksandar Vučić in his statements regarding the possible offer of Kosovo to join NATO has further advanced the narrative that it is not Kosovo itself, but the United States, that is planning and pushing this agenda. Such a narrative exploits China’s increased desire to confront the US and “uphold international law and the UN Charter,” especially in light of China’s accusations that NATO and the United States are the main culprits in the war in Ukraine.
Now, with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Serbia is focusing its main support in the international arena on China, as Russia has less time and resources to devote to protecting Serbia's national interests. Serbia has become increasingly vocal in its demands that China to play a more prominent role in the Kosovo issue.
Chinese propaganda in North Macedonia
While Russian propaganda manages to penetrate due to similarities in language and religion, and the broader knowledge that North Macedonian citizens have about Russian culture, art, and history, Chinese influence is associated with its lack of recognition. According to human rights expert Mirjana Najchevska, limited information about political developments, but also about everyday life and the problems faced by people in China, creates space for the citizens of North Macedonia to fall prey to Chinese propaganda. Najchevska emphasizes the fact that the penetration of propaganda is achieved with partial information, information taken out of context and above all with the lack of analysis of this information.
China's influence through Macedonian-language media was shared by Najchevska four main narratives:
- A strong-arm policy (which is applied in China in the connotation of the fight against corruption and abuse of official position, but also in relation to crime that is not related to the position of power.
- An economic giant (The media is unanimous in reporting information about China's economic growth. In this segment, it is about incomplete information and always outside any context of the protection of human rights or specific rights related to work (unions, the right to strike, judicial protection).).
- Criticism of the "West" (In the long and completely uncertain process of integration with the EU, the criticisms that China directs towards Western European countries and especially towards the US – mainly as part of its developed propaganda machine – find extremely fertile ground.).
- promote oneself (Some media outlets enter into direct production schemes to promote China as part of a program directly supported by the Chinese government).
In the case of North Macedonia, most of the promotional content is presented through the Chinese Embassy and its links with local media, including the Media Information Agency (MIA) and the National Broadcaster, MRT. There are also regularly published analyses in both mainstream media, such as Nova Makedonija, and fringe internet portals, that present China's positions, as well as a television show on Telma, a national television station, sponsored by the Chinese Embassy and aimed at promoting traditional and modern Chinese culture.
Chinese propaganda in Serbia
Serbia and the Republika Srpska region are the ones that are most subject to Chinese influence. This was announced by Ana Krstinovska, president of the ESTIMA Institute, adding that Serbia is relying much more on China now, given that Russia has lost its diplomatic capital due to the war in Ukraine, to essentially block Kosovo's efforts to secure international recognition or seek membership in various international organizations.
China also presented a vision for renaming the initiative in the next decade at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Serbia is also part of this initiative, and has become one of the most important participants in the Balkans.
According to survey According to BIRN, Serbia leads the region in terms of the number of infrastructure projects built or financed with Chinese aid and loans, each to a certain extent under the auspices of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
Serbian pro-government and pro-Russian media systematically promoted the narrative of the creation of a new multipolar world order, which is now symbolized by China's successful "One Belt, One Road" initiative, and in which Serbia can find its place by continuing to strengthen.her iron friendship"with China. The media that explicitly and more often tried to promote the narrative of establishing the contours of a new international order at the center of which would be China.
Another of the China-related narratives was that Serbia is becoming a ""iron friend" of China and that Serbia's international position – its "sovereign" and "libertarian" policies – advances with Chinese support.
Serbian media presents cooperation with China as Serbia's alternative to the West.
Chinese media funding in Serbia is not as visible as it seems the extent of its content, the direct influence comes from the analyses, opinions and promotional articles that appear in some major media outlets. It is fair to say that the media plays an important role in creating a nation of “China lovers”, but the reasoning is twofold: the direct intervention of the Chinese media and the close political relations with the ruling majority in Serbia.
Communication through the media has been important in facilitating the promotion of relations between Serbia and ChinaIn this context, their joint infrastructure projects and the preservation of China's image as a friendly country and reliable partner were presented in a positive way.
There are two main channels of positive media representation of cooperation between Serbia and China:
The first comes from pro-government and state-run media, which are the biggest contributors. Public broadcasters seem to be the frontrunners when it comes to direct cooperation with their Chinese counterparts. Serbia's RTS has a special section dedicated to promoting Chinese culture, and public, state and pro-government media in Serbia generally have a more positive coverage of China-related news.
The second – which has gained more importance in recent years – comes from Chinese or Chinese-backed media in Serbia (Chinese Foreign Radio and “Welcome to Fun Radio” broadcasts in Serbian and collaborations with weekly magazines and local daily newspapers). In Serbia, there is Welcome to Radio Fun, owned by a person with close ties to the ruling SNS party, which rebroadcasts CRI content. The magazines Nedeljnik and Politika, Serbia's oldest daily newspapers (50% state-owned), also have sections dedicated to promoting China and its presence in the country.
Political commentator Stefan Vladisavljev, in his analysis of the Serbian media's approach to China, argues that the positive image of China presented in state and pro-government media is the result of self-censorship and a tendency to view relations between the two states positively.
Another important aspect highlighted by Vladisavljev is how in media statements, Serbian officials and Chinese representatives often emphasize personal connection and even friendship between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In contrast, independent and autonomous media are more critical of increasing Chinese-Serbian cooperation, but there is almost no possibility for a media outlet that is not affiliated with the Serbian government to receive any comments or data from Chinese representatives, such as embassy officials.
Summary from Festim Rizanaj