Summary
- Chinese foreign manipulation and interference activities are growing in Europe.
- China’s interest in strengthening political and economic ties in central and eastern Europe in the 2010s generated alarm. But, rather than being a “Trojan horse”, this part of Europe is now something of a defensive vanguard: it offers extensive examples of the approaches Beijing may adopt elsewhere in Europe.
- A “playbook” of these information operations is now identifiable. It includes methods such as “borrowing mouths” of European influencers to lend credibility to Chinese messaging, “laundering” information, and otherwise obscuring the origin and attribution of China-derived content.
- Key messages include China’s “peaceful rise”, its intense modernity and support for Russian foreign policy positions.
- If left unchecked, these methods and messages could further corrode Europe’s information environment, undermining democratic resilience. Chinese AI tools also appear to push the same ideas.
- European decision-makers should help their populations become more “China-literate” to be alert to such operations. They should also consider how they can counter them directly.
About the Authors:
Alicja Bachulska is a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in the Warsaw office.
Ivana Karásková is a research fellow and China team lead at the Association for International Affairs, where she founded and coordinates the China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) network. She focuses on Chinese foreign and security policy, EU-China relations and foreign information manipulation and influence.
Konrad Szatters is a China analyst at the Association for International Affairs and editor at the China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe network, focusing on China’s political discourse and foreign policy.