As European countries struggle to contain the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus(COVID-19), Beijing has emerged as an eager partner to provide needed aid. As
of March 25, European countries has some of the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, including over 69,000 cases in Italy, 47,000 in Spain, and 35,000 in Germany. Europe is also witnessing some of the highest fatality rates, as more than 7,500 people in Italy and 3,400 people in Spain have died from the disease.

Although the Chinese government has been heavily criticized for its failure to slow the spread of the virus in December and January, and even to go as far as to cover up its existence for weeks, Beijing has looked to increase its aid campaign to overwhelmed European governments. In the last two weeks, China has sent masks, gloves, ventilators, and medical experts to help Italy,Spain,France, Greece, the Czech Republic, and other countries to help them deal with the outbreak.

As supplies were unloaded from a Chinese plane in Italy, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio noted that the aid demonstrated that “we are not alone, there are people in the world who want the help Italy.”

Experts from across Europe and the United States react to China’s growing coronavirus outreach in Europe and the implications for Chinese-EU relations […]

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