China loses its lustre among Europeans but doors remain open: survey

Name: Coronavirus: Europe’s second wave puts hospitals under pressure again as cases soar
Uploaded: 2020-11-19T08:06:53.000Z
Duration: 3 min 39 s
Description: Coronavirus: Europe’s second wave puts hospitals under pressure again as cases soar

Negative views are on the rise because of coronavirus and aggressive diplomacy but cooperation on trade and climate change still desirable

Nearly 20,000 people in 13 countries questioned on their attitudes towards Beijing

3-MIN READ3-MIN

The coronavirus has contributed to growing negative perceptions of China in a number of European countries, including 10 EU member states. Photo: Shutterstock

Keegan Elmerin Beijing

Published: 4:06pm, 19 Nov 2020Updated: 11:02pm, 19 Nov 2020

China’s reputation in Europe has been tarnished by its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aggressive “Wolf Warrior” style of diplomacy, a survey of nearly 20,000 people from 13 countries has found.

But, as negative views of Beijing have grown across the continent, Europeans continued to regard trade and cooperation with China on climate change in a positive light, according to the report published this week by a group of 20 researchers.

The survey, led by the Sinophone Borderlands project at Palacky University in the Czech Republic, was carried out in September and October and covered Russia, Serbia and Britain as well as EU member states France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

03:39

Coronavirus: Europe’s second wave puts hospitals under pressure again as cases soar

Negative views of China outweighed positive or neutral attitudes in all but three countries – Latvia, Serbia and Russia – and were strongest in Britain, Sweden and France, where more than half of respondents felt relations with China had worsened over the past three years.

Richard Turcsanyi, lead author of the report, said China’s worsening image could be attributed in part to the more aggressive “Wolf Warrior” approach to diplomacy adopted by China’s top envoys in countries like Sweden, France, and the Czech Republic.