Cooperation Between China and Central and Eastern European Countries in the Post-pandemic World – Difficulties, Changes and Prospects Cover Image

后疫情时代中国与中东欧国家合作:困境、变化与启示
Cooperation Between China and Central and Eastern European Countries in the Post-pandemic World – Difficulties, Changes and Prospects

Author(s): Xinzhi Li, Yu Zhou, Yudi Chi
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Geopolitics
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: China-CEEC cooperation; The Belt and Road Initiative; Populism; Coronavirus

Summary/Abstract: Since its official launch in 2012, the China-CEEC cooperation has yielded excellent results. However, it is worth noting that the cooperation has always been affected by the international intervention of the EU and the U.S.A. The variability of the domestic policies within the CEEC countries, the differences of culture and ideology between China and the CEEC countries, as well as some propaganda which has deliberately blackened the national image of China, have all contributed to an unsteady and incomplete cooperation, particularly in the economic field. During the pandemic, the effectiveness of COVID-19 control and prevention in different countries has varied a lot, which has partly led to some new changes in the interaction among the CEEC countries, the EU, the U.S. and China. Such changes have facilitated the dispersal of the suspicion of China to some extent. In a post-pandemic world, to promote cooperation between China and the CEEC countries, we should expand cooperation, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges and enhance media cooperation. In terms of practical cooperation, China can work with the CEEC countries in discussing cybersecurity strategy, guiding the transformation of new media into a positive public-opinion arena for social development.