Six Chinese medical professionals were transported through Air Serbia jet to Belgrade. The exchange signaled the Chinese government's support for Belgrade in battling the pandemic in the country. Being Beijing's closes European ally, Belgrade now observes China's virus management model.
China provided on-the-ground assistance for Serbia, its closest European ally, to help the state battle against the pandemic. The outreach was Beijing's move in asserting global leadership in battling the pandemic after facing criticism from the United States government and other jurisdictions all over the world.
The report also revealed that western governments have criticized Beijing's rising influence around the world particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative that also struggles with the pandemic death tolls.
As a part of China's long-running effort to strike a benevolent hold overseas to offset the worries about the pandemic, the country currently presents alternatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank set up in 2016. The effort was also seen as China's move to dominate global institutions.
According to a former Canadian diplomat and the director of the University of Alberta's China Institute Gordon Houlden, China might use the pandemic to further its national interests in foreign jurisdictions. He added that the plan might include suggesting its governance models such as its methodology or epidemiology.
The methodology of China's government on controlling the adverse effects of the pandemic was imposed with aggressive and comprehensive approaches including lockdowns. In a press conference last Thursday, ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian revealed that China aims to send medical teams to share the country's experiences in combatting the pandemic and not to export its governance model abroad.
Beijing also sent medical teams to Cambodia, Italy, Iraq, Iran, Laos, Venezuela, and Pakistan. These were the G7 nations who joined the Belt and Road Initiative and were equally devastated by the pandemic. Last week, 12 Chinese medical team members were also sent to the Philippines for the same purpose.
China's outreach included giving donations or sale of supplies to 90 countries worldwide including the United States. According to the China International Development Cooperation Agency, several videoconferences with international organizations and country leaders were engaged by the Chinese government to share the latter's take on battling the pandemic.
A specialist from the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the head of the Chinese team in Serbia Peng Zhiqiang, China hopes that other countries would not repeat the mishaps experienced by the country in their respective jurisdictions. Chinese medical experts also advised host countries on building makeshift hospitals and evoked the 1,000-bed hospital that China built from scratch in eight days in Wuhan.
The virus management measures were reported to be similar to efforts that helped mitigate the number of cases in the country. These included the isolation of people that had mild symptoms and suggesting methods of treating these complications with widespread temperature checking on people who go to public places.
