Italy, a Target Destination for China’s Propaganda

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Other

Italy, a Target Destination for China’s Propaganda

Italy was one of the countries that are keeping the Chinese authorities most busy through a vast operation involving sending masks, respirators, diagnostic tests as well as visits by Chinese experts to Italy.

By Philippe Le Corre

Published on Apr 23, 2020

Source: Fondation pour la Recherche stratégique

With more than 102,000 cases and the sad record of 12,000 deaths as of March 31, 2020, Italy was the European country most affected by Covid-19 at that time. It is also one of the countries that are keeping the Chinese authorities most busy through a vast operation involving sending masks, respirators, diagnostic tests as well as visits by Chinese experts to Italy, including the vice-president of the Chinese Red Cross, Sun Shuopeng, who in March advised Italian people to ”work harder” to stop the epidemic. For his part, Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, offered a million masks and tests through his foundation. All these actions are relayed by a propaganda campaign via the Chinese embassy in Rome and the official press.

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This article was originally published by Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique

About the Author

Philippe Le Corre

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Europe Program

Philippe Le Corre was a nonresident senior fellow in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Recent Work

Q&A
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Jeopardized the China-EU Relationship
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China’s Influence in Southeastern, Central, and Eastern Europe: Vulnerabilities and Resilience in Four Countries
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  Erik Brattberg, Philippe Le Corre, Paul Stronski, …

Economy Trade Foreign Policy East Asia China Western Europe Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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