"China's Claim of Fake Vaccine News Spread Is False Itself"

Photo by Global Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] China has strongly opposed the European Union's (EU) announcement accusing it of spreading fake news about Western vaccines, calling it "absurd slander."

On the 30th, the Chinese state-run media Global Times claimed that the EU's assertion that Chinese and Russian state media spread fake news about Western vaccines is an absurd slander, likening it to a thief shouting "Catch the thief."

China argued that Chinese media only reported by citing Western media, and that Western media and politicians are actually spreading fake news about China, causing harm.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy to the EU criticized, "The report listing false information without factual basis is false itself."

The previous day, the European External Action Service (EEAS), which oversees the EU's foreign policy, released a report stating that Russia and China have been spreading disinformation to undermine the trustworthiness of US and European vaccines.

The report stated that since December last year until recently, Russian and Chinese state media have been spreading fake news raising safety concerns about US and European vaccines, particularly creating baseless links between European vaccines and deaths to promote the superiority of their own vaccines.

The report cited 18 articles from Global Times, 4 from CGTN, and 4 from China Daily. Global Times claimed that among the 18 cited articles, 5 were commentaries, and the rest were reports citing Western media news.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, said in an interview with Global Times, "It is Western media that raised safety issues about Western vaccines. Since Chinese media reported by citing Western media, if China's reports are fake news, then Western reports are fake as well."

Li Baiyang, a data analysis expert at Wuhan University, argued that China is the victim of fake news.

He criticized, "Claims about the COVID-19 Wuhan Institute virus leak, former US President Donald Trump's 'China virus' remarks, doubts about the authenticity of China's COVID-19 data, and undervaluation of Chinese vaccines?all slanders against China?were created by Western media and politicians."

He added, "Since the spread of COVID-19, some Western media and politicians have been continuously slandering China with the aim of pressuring it."