While the Chinese and Indonesian government began cooperating during the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine distribution, Beijing has recently increased its investment in Indonesia’s health sector to push back against negative perceptions of China among a majority of Indonesians.

Beijing has attempted to shape global discourse around the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic by exploiting the editorial process in scientific journals. Chinese researchers retracted significant and important data from international journals that indicates a pattern of censorship from the government.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative has shifted away from large infrastructure projects to more subtle methods of authoritarian influence, including 5G technology, media buyouts, and “Sinology” programs in academia. Chinese support continues to be used by authoritarian allies to finance control globally.

China’s multi-billion dollar investments in Indonesian infrastructure and vaccine diplomacy have overcome past grievances and swayed Indonesia’s president towards supporting Beijing’s strategic goals in Southeast Asia and at the United Nations.

Chinese students studying in Manchester, UK reported threatening comments made by the Chinese consul general in response to their protests against China’s Zero Covid policies. The Chinese government is taking steps to intimidate international students and influence their behavior.

China used the 14+1 Initiative as a means for spreading economic and political influence, employing various tactics such as anti-Western propaganda, sharing Chinese media content with local outlets, infrastructure investments, and vaccine exports.

The Chinese Communist Party strives to cultivate cultural, political, and academic ties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These efforts are more pronounced in the Republika Srpska, where the authorities tend to adopt a pro-Russian and anti-Western foreign policy stance.

Chinese influence in Serbia is spread through various means. The most conspicuous and successful tools have been economic cooperation between Serbia and China, activities of the Chinese embassy, bilateral visits, “mask and vaccine diplomacy,” and cooperation with Serbian media.

North Macedonia is a member of several international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and NATO, where the vote of each country counts. Thus, China seeks to ensure North Macedonia’s friendship, or at least neutrality, on resolutions tabled by Western governments.

China’s policies toward Slovakia have included protecting China’s core interests on issues such as Taiwan and Tibet; creating a positive image of China, Chinese foreign policy, and Sino-Slovak relations; and establishing links with political and business leaders to induce China-friendly policies.

China exerts influence in Montenegro through economic clout, primarily through huge debt for construction projects that will burden Montenegro for years. China’s investments in Montenegro benefit from a loophole that allows them to escape public scrutiny, competitive bidding, and national regulations.

China’s attempts to project influence in Romania primarily target elites. Through Confucius Institutes, new generations of educated individuals are persuaded to focus on the economics of the Sino-Romanian relationship rather than the threat that the Chinese political model represents to democracy.

Beijing’s main strategic goals in the Czech Republic have been to weaken political support for Taiwan and to improve China’s image in the country, for example by fighting narratives depicting it as a human rights violator and as the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese malign influence efforts in Latvia so far have been relatively passive. The goals are primarily to create a positive image of China, gather information on and establish contacts with the political and economic elite, and probe possibilities for major investments in Latvia.

China’s main goal in Slovenia is to secure a long-term political and security partnership with Ljubljana. Its main source of influence is its economic appeal: It affects the behavior of businesspeople and politicians in Slovenia and contributes to China’s cultural influence in multiple areas.