China Watch, February 2022
Views from the Est on Beijing’s influence
in the Black Sea region
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BULGARIA
Analysis by the Bulgarian Institute for legal Initiative (BILI)
Bulgaria went through a significant political shift of powers in 2021.
After more than a decade-long ruling of the center-right party GERB, the year was marked by two provisional governments, appointed by President Rumen Radev, and four elections: three for National Assembly, and one presidential. Even by local standards, it was an unusual interval with political scandals, instability, and a surprising rise of new parties and political figures.
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Even by local standards, it was an unusual interval with instability, and a surprising rise of new political figures.
Three personalities caught the wave of the turbulent political zeitgeist: president Rumen Radev, who was re-elected for his second mandate; Kiril Petkov, Minister of Economy in the 2021 provisional governments; and Assen Vassilev, Minister of Finance during the same period. The last two, nicknamed the Harvard Boys by the foreign press, created their own political project called Continuing the Change.
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Soft power – or maybe not
What is more, the warming up of the diplomatic relations between China and Bulgaria is real. In January 2021, in an interview for 24 hours the Chinese Ambassador in Bulgaria, Dong Xiaojun said that the newly elected Parliament would create a new chapter in the Bulgarian political history,
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Are the “Harvard Boys” really enamoured with China?
Back in 2013 when Vassilev was Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism in a caretaker government, he was harboring high hopes that Bulgaria would become China’s – or even Asia’s – gateway to Europe.
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Vassilev’s links with China are rather uncertain
His media outlets were rather critical in the past of the former ruling party GERB. Petkov said that no politicians from GERB took part in delegations to China because former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov did not want them to come.
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The news agency PIK, which is supportive of the current parliamentary opposition party GERB, published an extensive material titled “Chinese loans peek behind the longing of Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev for power”. The article begins the story back in 2016, when “a strange Chinese” was searching for a political party in Bulgaria to invest in.
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China Watch – Disinformation Narratives
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Pro-Chinese narratives in the Romanian digital landscape tend to have a moderate reach due to cultural differences and skepticism of Romanians towards China. China is present in the public discussion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China is seen in Romanian society as a superpower that is likely to become an even closer ally of Russia.
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How this possibility is portrayed depends on which side of the echo chamber we listen to. Pro-China narratives try to create the image of China as the savior of the West's hegemony and bad decisions. Often we see the parallel with the Afghanistan withdrawal quoted as a common example of how the US fails and China comes and helps civilians.
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ONLINE MEDIA MONITORING IN ROMANIA
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1. China wants peace. China is ready to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The US doesn't have the moral high ground to condemn the Kremlin for the invasion, and it shouldn't pretend to defend Ukraine. China will offer humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
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The West is offering preferential treatment to Ukrainian refugees. China is protecting itself and its interests by having an alliance against the West's hegemony. The US is the aggressor and might want to attack China.
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This monitoring is supported by a grant from
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY
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