BFMI: Serbian-Chinese media cooperation represents a threat to media freedom in the region
FMPRC.gov.cn
BFMI is deeply concerned about the impact of Serbian-Chinese media cooperation on the already vulnerable media landscape in Serbia. This follows the signing of eight media cooperation agreements between Serbian and Chinese officials during President Xi Jinping's visit to Belgrade. These agreements risk integrating Chinese state media more deeply into Serbia's media environment, which is already saturated with Russian state propaganda and disinformation. This move represents a threat to media freedom and democracy in the region and showcases President Vučić’s disregard for EU values.
Last week, Presidents Vučić and Xi signed a joint declaration “on deepening and raising the comprehensive strategic partnership and building the community of Serbia and China with a common future in the new era.” The agreement included 28 documents of cooperation and memorandums of understanding across various sectors, with a significant focus on cooperation in the following areas:
Presidential Media Services: A Memorandum of Understanding between the media service of the Office of the President and China Media Group.
Public Broadcasting: An agreement to deepen ties between Serbian state broadcaster RTS and China Media Group.
National News Agency: An agreement on the exchange of news and cooperation between Tanjug News Agency of Serbia and Xinhua News Agency of China.
Print Media: A Memorandum of Understanding between Serbian newspaper Politika and China Media Group.
Radio, Television and Audio-visual Media and Infrastructure: An agreement involving Serbia's Ministry of Information and Telecommunications and China's National Radio and Television Administration.
Cultural Media Initiatives: A Letter of Intent for Cooperation between Serbia's Ministry of Culture and the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, alongside China Media Group.
Digital Economy: A Memorandum of Exchange to bolster digital economy collaboration between Serbia’s Ministry of Information and Telecommunications and China's National Data Administration.
Information and Communication Technologies Cooperation: A Memorandum of Understanding on ICT cooperation signed by Serbia's Ministry of Information and Telecommunications and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technologies.
These agreements heighten concerns about the influence of Chinese entities on Serbia's media environment and infrastructure. Xinhua News Agency and China Media Group, in particular, are state-owned and regulated by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), they are instrumental in disseminating Chinese propaganda worldwide.
Serbia already stands at a critical juncture between European democratic values and authoritarianism. Under President Vucic's leadership, the nation has moved toward greater autocracy and media freedom has significantly declined. Despite facing bans across Europe, Russian propaganda channels such as Sputnik and Russia Today (Serbian-language ‘RT Balkan’) remain active in Serbia. This has flooded the Serbian information environment with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, which have also spread to Serbian-speaking communities in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and throughout the Balkans.
BFMI now fears that Serbia’s partnership with Chinese entities will lead to an increase in anti-European, pro-government narratives across the region. This underscores the urgent need for a re-evaluation of Serbia's media alliances and the potential repercussions these might have on the nation's democratic trajectory and its alignment with European values. If Serbia was an EU member state as it purportedly aspires to be, these agreements would not be allowed.
BFMI calls on the European Parliament and European Commission to urge Serbia to align with EU media freedom standards, as part of any membership negotiations. The implications of Serbia-China media partnerships must be thoroughly examined during Serbia’s yearly accession progress and rule of law report, which the EU must ensure Serbia subscribes to. Any disbursements of EU funding, including the EU Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, should be conditioned to progress on this front. Moreover, as mentioned in the EC Report on Serbia, the country fulfil must progressively align with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, particularly on Russia and China
