From Chinese language courses to painting and calligraphy, to martial arts and qigong (described as preventive health practices), these are some of the offerings at the Confucius Institute in Serbia.
While some Confucius Institutes in Europe are being closed due to suspicions that they serve as “propaganda tools” for Beijing and President Xi Jinping, a third Confucius Institute opened in mid-September in Niš, in southern Serbia.
The institute is affiliated with the Faculty of Philosophy in that city and was presented as “a project for spreading the Chinese language and culture and promoting economic cooperation.”
According to Ivana Stradner, an associate at the Washington-based NGO Foundation for the Protection of Democracy, Confucius Institutes serve Beijing as a “Trojan horse” in the West, “effectively acting as an information weapon for Beijing under the guise of cultural diplomacy.”
“They are used as soft power to spread positive ideas and images about China through universities in the West, while avoiding controversial topics like the Taiwan issue, the South China Sea, and, above all, the human rights violations against (the Muslim minority) Uighurs,” Stradner said in a statement to Radio Free Europe (RFE).
Concerns in Brussels
In a written response to a question from Radio Free Europe (RFE), European Union (EU) spokesperson Peter Stano stated that “concerns have been raised in several cases about the real role and activities of the Confucius Institute in EU member states.”
“Any misuse of international academic or cultural cooperation by governments, citizens, or third-party institutions would be concerning,” said Stano.
He emphasized that institutes serving to promote language and culture are “welcome to operate in the EU” and that it is up to EU member states to investigate and address any potential abuse.
“If such institutions were to be used as a platform for other malign purposes, it would constitute foreign interference and should be addressed accordingly,” Stano said.
This, he added, also applies to candidate countries, which he urged to “gradually” align their foreign and security policies with those of the EU.
Serbia began EU accession negotiations ten years ago and has increased its cooperation with China since 2016 under the initiative of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, which has led to repeated warnings from Brussels and Washington.
The cooperation has primarily been reflected in infrastructure projects within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for which Serbia takes loans from Chinese banks. Since 2020, defense cooperation has also been on the agenda, with Serbia purchasing drones and the FK-3 anti-aircraft missile system from China.
“The EU has already understood what it means to have a Russian and Chinese Trojan horse like Hungary, and it doesn’t want Serbia to join the EU as such,” Ivana Stradner, a member of the NGO Foundation for the Protection of Democracy, said to RFE.
In May, Belgrade was the only city on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s European tour, alongside Paris and Budapest.
The relations between the two countries were later described as a “strategic” and “solid” friendship at the level of a “community with a shared future,” as Xi Jinping put it during his visit to Belgrade.
Ivana Stradner from the Washington-based NGO believes that the expansion of Chinese influence in Serbia does not in itself threaten Serbia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
However, she suggests that the expansion of soft power is part of China’s “broader strategy in the Balkans.”
“China has sold weapons to Serbia, meaning that Beijing wants to have a military base in the EU through Serbia,” Stradner said.
Confucius Institutes Closing in Europe
Currently, there are 123 Confucius Institutes in the European Union. The largest numbers are in Germany (21) and France (19).
In the past decade, several Confucius Institutes have been closed at European universities over suspicions, as reported in the media, that they serve as “an instrument of China’s propaganda machine.”
In EU member Finland, the Confucius Institute ceased operations in January 2023 after 15 years. According to Markus Laitinen, responsible for international relations at the University of Helsinki, the agreement with the Chinese side “was not finalized,” but the decision was made not to renew the contract.
He explained that the reason for halting cooperation was financial, based on a cost-benefit analysis of the gains that University of Helsinki students derived from the Confucius Institute.
“Although the teaching at the Confucius Institute was highly rated, it was not enough compared to the investments we had to make,” Laitinen said.
In Sweden, another EU member, the Confucius Institute existed for 10 years before Stockholm University decided to end the collaboration. The university stated that during this time, they had developed a “completely different kind of academic exchange with China.”
“This led to a change in the format of the collaboration and the decision not to renew the contract with the Confucius Institute,” the university said in a response to RFE.
Norway, which has two Confucius Institutes, ended cooperation with the Confucius Institute in 2021.
When asked about the reasons for closure, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research responded briefly that “cooperation was terminated based on decisions made at the institutional level.”
Under Scrutiny in Germany
In Germany, which has the largest number of Confucius Institutes in the EU, some politicians in 2023 called for “clear restrictions” on the influence of these institutes.
Asked by Radio Free Europe whether Germany is considering restrictive measures against the Confucius Institute, the German Foreign Ministry said it considers academic freedom and research in teaching to be of utmost importance and that the German government is “willing to help German universities and research organizations ensure that cooperation with Confucius Institutes and similar partners in China meets the country’s educational and research system requirements.”
“The Federal government expects maximum transparency in this regard, particularly when state funding is involved,” the German Foreign Ministry said.
UK Cuts State Funding
The closure of the Confucius Institute was one of the campaign promises of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. In May 2023, he announced that the British government would take steps to end both direct and indirect funding for Confucius Institutes.
With 34 active institutes, the United Kingdom has the largest number of such institutes in Europe.
In a written response to RFE, the UK Department of Education said that its government does not provide funding to Confucius Institutes.
“Any international agreement made by registered higher education providers in the UK, including partnerships with the Confucius Institute, must comply with the law and meet the registration conditions set by the Office for Students, the regulatory body for universities in the UK,” the ministry said.
What Confucius Institutes Have Gained from Faculties in Serbia
With three Confucius Institutes in the three largest cities, Serbia holds the record in the Western Balkans.
The Confucius Institute in Niš was established in cooperation with Jiangsu University, located about 90 kilometers from Shanghai.
The Faculty of Arts in Niš only provided space for the Confucius Institute, as RFE was told.
“Everything else (furnishing the premises, purchasing equipment and classrooms, organizing events, managing and offering courses) is exclusively financed by the Chinese partners,” said the faculty.
The Chinese partners include Jiangsu University, the China Education Foundation, the Chinese Government, the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, and “partner companies supporting the Institute’s work.”
“All obligations to the teachers, including financial ones, are paid by the Chinese partners, and the Faculty of Arts bears no costs in this regard. The Institute currently has one Chinese co-director (who, along with the Serbian co-director, organizes the Institute’s work) and two professors. Due to high demand for language lessons, we expect two more Chinese language professors,” the faculty added.
As for the teachers, they explained that they are native Chinese speakers delegated by Jiangsu University.
The Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, where the first Confucius Institute in Serbia opened in 2006, and the Faculty of Arts in Novi Sad, where the Institute opened in 2014, did not respond to RFE’s questions regarding how they support the Confucius Institute’s work or whether they share funds from their faculty budgets.
Confucius, who lived at the turn of the 6th to the 5th century BCE, was a famous Chinese philosopher and social reformer. He is known as one of the earliest private teachers in Chinese history.
The Chinese Embassy in Belgrade did not respond to Radio Free Europe’s questions regarding claims that the Confucius Institute serves as a “propaganda tool” and why the expansion of the Confucius Institute in Serbia is important for Beijing.
Labeled “Foreign Missions” in the US
The United States considers Confucius Institutes as “entities that facilitate China’s global propaganda and harmful influence.” In 2019, there were more than 100 institutes operating under the name of the Chinese philosopher, but today there are only 17.
In August 2020, the State Department designated Confucius Institutes as “foreign missions.”
The State Department cited the lack of transparency at these institutions as the primary reason for this designation. The statement mentioned that the U.S. government would not require universities to close Confucius Institutes.
“Designating the Confucius Institute in the United States as a foreign mission will ensure the much-needed transparency, as the Institutes will be required to regularly provide the State Department with information on Chinese national staff, recruitment, financing, and operations in the U.S.,” the State Department said at the time.
In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose tenure has been marked by a desire to expand China’s influence in the West, stated that China should increase its soft power and “better convey China’s message to the world.”
Eight years later, on October 28
