Chinese Media Influence: Lessons Learned from Central and Eastern Europe 

For over a decade, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sought to expand its influence operations in Central and Eastern Europe, including in the information space, with varying degrees of success. Its efforts appear to have had more success in the Balkans, where China has successfully exploited gaps that others, particularly the European Union, have failed to address. Countries with strong civil societies or more robust international support, such as in the Baltics, have appeared better equipped to identify and mitigate malign foreign influence strategies. How are the CCP's tactics evolving, why has the impact of these influence operations varied, and how can democracies more effectively counter disinformation and propaganda?

This meeting is hosted in partnership with Freedom House.