China is going on a PR offensive.
Trying to counter months of criticism about coronavirus, the country is sending supplies and doctors worldwide.
The list is extensive: 100,000 testing kits for the Philippines, gloves and protective clothing for Liberia, and millions of masks and medical supplies for the Czech Republic and Serbia.
The help has been eagerly welcomed in many nations straining to keep up with new COVID-19 cases.
“I believe in my brother and friend Xi Jinping and I believe in China’s help,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who also blasted his European neighbors for not showing enough support.
The United States, which only six years ago led the global response to Africa’s Ebola outbreak, has been missing in action as the Trump administration scrambles for supplies — especially face masks and gowns for medical professions — to ward off the virus at home.
Besides PR abroad, China is using its propaganda machine to spread disinformation about coronavirus online — and deflect blame from the Wuhan live animal markets where it originated. Several times, Chinese Communist officials have falsely suggested the infection came from the United States.
“It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted. “Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”
With Post wires