China In Eurasia

Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now.

The Changing Face of The China-Russia Relationship

The United States accused China of providing "very substantial" aid to Russia's war effort as Beijing and Moscow wrapped up massive naval and air drills spanning both hemispheres.

Here's what's going on.

Finding Perspective: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told a group of journalists in Brussels on September 10 that Beijing was no longer supplying just dual-use goods that could be repurposed for military use but was now working explicitly to "help sustain, build, and diversify various elements of the Russian war machine."

"We're seeing efforts at the highest levels of both governments to try to both hide and protect certain elements of this worrisome collaboration," Campbell said.

In return, the senior official said Moscow had begun to provide Beijing with access to submarine, missile, and other closely guarded military tech it has historically resisted giving to China.

"The capabilities that Russia is providing is support in areas where previously they had been frankly reluctant to engage directly with China," Campbell said. "We are concerned about a particular number of military arenas where there appears to be some determination to provide China with greater support."

The accusations are the most unambiguous comments yet from a U.S. official about how deeply China and Russia are cooperating militarily and the growing extent of Beijing's help for Moscow's war effort.

Expanding The Scope: The new technologies that Campbell claims Russia is now sharing with China could also have a major effect in the Pacific, which was part of the focus from the recent "Ocean-24" exercises.

The naval and air drills spanned the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Baltic seas while consisting of over 400 warships, submarines, and support vessels, more than 120 planes and helicopters, and over 90,000 troops.

The exercises began on September 10 and finished on September 16.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments to military officials that the war games are the largest of their kind in three decades, and that China's warships and planes were taking part. China confirmed this, saying the two countries' navies would sail together in the Pacific, but gave no details.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said the drills were aimed to train "repelling large-scale aggression of a potential enemy from ocean directions, combating unmanned boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, defending naval bases, conducting amphibious operations and escorting transports."

Why It Matters: Both announcements highlight how the two countries are growing closer and crossing what were once deemed red lines.

This also points to the widening scope and symbiotic nature of China and Russia's ties.

The joint exercises help Moscow's long-cherished goal of building up its bonafides as a Pacific power, and Russia benefits from tensions in the Asia-Pacific because they distract the United States from paying full attention to Europe.

Similarly, China benefits from the war in Ukraine, as American resources and attention are diverted from being more solely focused on the Asia-Pacific.

At the recent Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, both Chinese and Russian defense officials took swipes at the West, with Russia saying the United States was shifting military conflicts to the Asia-Pacific.

There are still clear limits to the Beijing-Moscow relationship, especially for how China has approached navigating U.S. sanctions, but with neither on course to dial back their tensions with Washington, the two countries are set on a path of expanding partnership.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. A Landmark Case Moves Forward In Serbia

A Serbian court recently opened proceedings in the country's first publicly documented case of sex trafficking involving Chinese nationals, reports Mila Manojlovic, my colleague from RFE/RL's Balkan Service.

The Details: A criminal indictment obtained by RFE/RL through a freedom of information request says two Chinese women were trafficked to Serbia from China and then had their passports taken away from them, given only one meal per day, and forced under the threat of death to provide sexual services to men.

The indictment adds the two women were trafficked by a male Chinese citizen who "misled the victims" by promising to "find them a job as a masseuse" in Serbia and "provide housing and food" for them. He then forced them to have sex with men shortly after arriving in the Balkan country by threatening "to kill them" and warning "that he is powerful and can do anything to make them disappear."

The Chinese man, who has not been identified, was arrested in March by Serbian police in the eastern city of Bor and began his closed-door preliminary hearing on September 12 after being charged with human trafficking.

The legal case involving Chinese nationals is likely to test the increasingly friendly relations between China and Serbia.

2. China Steps Up Cooperation On Policing

China announced that it plans to train 3,000 foreign law enforcement officials over the next year to tackle global security issues and better protect Chinese interests beyond its borders.

What It Means: Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong made the pledge in an opening speech at the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang on September 10.

Wang said Beijing would also send police consultants and working units to countries to help improve their law enforcement capacity, conduct joint patrols and investigations, and tackle cross-border crime.

Central Asia was in focus at the Forum, with Wang meeting his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

"China is willing to enhance the capability for counterterrorism and transnational crime fighting and build an efficient and pragmatic cooperation platform with Central Asian countries to achieve the vision of universal security," Wang said.

The forum coincided with police drills between Chinese and Serbian units in Guangzhou, RFE/RL's Balkan Service reported.

3. Xi Is Going Back To Russia

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Russia in October to attend the summit for BRICS, the bloc of emerging economies that has Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as founding members.

What You Need To Know: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed Xi's attendance on September 12 while he was in St. Petersburg meeting with Putin.

After 13 years without expansion, the bloc welcomed four new members into its ranks -- Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates -- and a growing list of countries, such as Azerbaijan and Turkey, have applied to join since then.

While not an explicitly anti-Western organization, BRICS is seen as part of Beijing's drive to counter U.S. influence around the globe.

This year's summit will be held in Kazan on October 22-24.

Xi last visited Russia in March 2023, and Putin reciprocated with his own trip to China in October that same year. The two leaders have since also met in Beijing in May and in Kazakhstan in July.

While meeting with Putin, Wang said the two leaders will also have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

Across The Supercontinent

Hytera In Bosnia: Sarajevo police have chosen to use body cameras from a controversial Chinese company that is under scrutiny in Canada and the European Union and blacklisted in the United States over national security concerns, Meliha Kesmer and Andi Mioc from RFE/RL's Balkan Service report.

Brasilia Brushed Off: Speaking in an interview with the Brazilian media outlet Metropoles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a Chinese-Brazilian peace proposal announced last month was "destructive" and "mostly pro-Russian."

Steering Clear: While Putin is aiming to turn this year's BRICS summit into a larger diplomatic gathering that he hopes can show that he isn't isolated on the world stage, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he will not attend.

Off The Rails: China is no longer supplying Belarusian Railways with 15 locomotives because the trains contain American components that are not allowed to be exported to Belarus and the Chinese manufacturer CRRC is afraid of violating U.S. sanctions.

One Thing To Watch

Former Italian Premier Mario Draghi outlined his blueprint for improving the European Union's competitiveness through closer cooperation and massive investment.

The long-awaiting report on economic competitiveness calls for "radical change" as the EU faces aggressive economic competition from China and the United States.

Speaking to the European Parliament on September 17, Draghi said "Europe faces a choice between exit, paralysis, or integration." He took particular aim at relying on China to supply green technologies. While this might be the cheapest path forward to meet its climate goals, he said the bloc needs a more nuanced response to Chinese state-sponsored competitors to retain its own clean tech jobs.

The former European Central Bank chief said that for some products such as solar panels, where Chinese producers were too far ahead, the EU should let foreign taxpayers finance cheaper installation of cheap energy. Whereas for other sectors, such as batteries, Europe should not be dependent on foreign technology and should retain its know-how, with Draghi leaving the door open for tariffs on some subsidized Chinese firms.

"We do not want to become protectionist in Europe, but we cannot be passive if the actions of others are threatening our prosperity," Draghi said.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

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BELGRADE -- A Serbian court will open proceedings on September 12 in the country's first publicly documented case of sex trafficking involving Chinese nationals.

A criminal indictment obtained by RFE/RL through a freedom of information request says that two Chinese women were trafficked to Serbia from China and then had their passports taken away from them, given only one meal per day, and forced under the threat of death to provide sexual services to men.

The indictment adds that the two women were trafficked by a male Chinese citizen who "misled the victims" by promising to "find them a job as a masseuse" in Serbia and "provide housing and food" for them. He then forced them to have sex with men shortly after arriving in the Balkan country by threatening "to kill them" and warning "that he is powerful and can do anything to make them disappear."

"After a few hours upon their arrival, he organized their sexual exploitation by" Chinese men in Serbia "under the threat that they... owed him money for the purchased [plane] tickets and that they needed to earn money to obtain work permits."

The Chinese man, who has not been identified, was arrested in March by Serbian police in the eastern city of Bor and is set to begin his closed-door preliminary hearing after being charged with human trafficking by a court in the nearby city of Zajecar.

Large sections of the indictment obtained by RFE/RL, including details about the case and the women's ordeal, were blacked out.

The legal case involving Chinese nationals is likely to test the increasingly friendly relations between China and Serbia.

China has become a major investor and trade partner with Serbia, and the two countries provide visa-free travel for each other's citizens.

SEE ALSO:

Serbian Deals With China On Extradition, Media Cooperation Could Have Lasting Impact

"The sensitivity of diplomatic relations often creates pressure on [Serbian] authorities to be cautious when it comes to investigations involving Chinese citizens or companies," said Sasa Djordjevic, senior analyst at the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, a Switzerland-based think tank.

"The fear that this could jeopardize strategic ties between Serbia and China may lead to a less decisive reaction from [Serbian] authorities and institutions," Djordjevic added.

Looking Closer At The Case

The two women have been officially identified as victims of human trafficking by the Center for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking, a Serbian state-run organization that provides support to trafficking victims.

The center told RFE/RL that the case was the first in Serbia involving Chinese nationals since it began collecting data in 2015.

There have been 35 documented cases of human trafficking in Serbia so far in 2024, according to the center.

Examples of trafficking Chinese women to Serbia are mentioned in the 2024 Trafficking In Persons Report released by the U.S. State Department.

The report says that "traffickers exploit women from the [People's Republic of China (PRC)] in sex trafficking, primarily targeting demand for commercial sex from workers at PRC-funded projects, including copper mines."

While no links to the mining industry are mentioned in the indictment, Bor, the city where the man accused of trafficking the women was arrested, and the nearby town of Majdanpek, are both home to large gold and copper mining operations that were taken over in 2018 by China's Zijin Mining company. The firm employs both Serbian and Chinese workers in Bor and Majdanpek.

The State Department declined to answer RFE/RL's questions about the details mentioned in the report or if it included the case of the two Chinese women in the indictment. But the State Department did say that it informed the Serbian government about its findings.

The Serbian government did not respond to RFE/RL's request for comment.

The Chinese Embassy in Belgrade did not respond to RFE/RL's questions about the indictment, the preliminary trial beginning on September 12, or the claims raised by the State Department.

Zoran Pasalic, Serbia's national rapporteur for human trafficking and ombudsman, told RFE/RL in a statement that he was familiar with the case involving the two Chinese women and that "there is no doubt that they are victims of human trafficking."

Pasalic said other people in addition to the Chinese man were also involved in trafficking and exploiting the two women.

"According to our knowledge, it is not only a Chinese citizen. However, in the interest of the investigation, I cannot reveal who was also involved in that case," he said.

Pasalic said the Center for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking provided the women with free accommodation and psychological support, granted them temporary residence permits, and "support during their return to China."

SEE ALSO:

'We Can Barely Open A Window': Residents Grapple With Pollution From Chinese Copper Mine In Serbia

In Serbia, human trafficking carries a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison.

But Marija Andjelkovic, the CEO of ASTRA, a Serbian grassroots organization that provides support for human-trafficking victims, says that legal precedent in the country tends to favor lighter sentencing, often between three to five years.

"These procedures can last a long time and be exhausting for the victim," she told RFE/RL. "[The victim] can be expected to repeat her story on average up to seven times from the first contact with the authorities until the end of the trial."

Serbia's Record On Human Trafficking

In another notable human-trafficking case in Serbia in 2021, the Chinese company Linglong, which is building a nearly $1 billion tire factory in northeastern Serbia, was accused of trafficking and exploiting an estimated 500 Vietnamese workers.

As documented through testimony from workers and images shared with local and international media at the time, the laborers were housed in makeshift barracks near the construction site without electricity, hot water, or adequate access to food. Many of the workers also had their passports taken away by their managers after entering Serbia and the incident was raised by the UN Human Rights Council.

A similar case arose in January involving a smaller group of Indian workers with the construction company China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction, which is a contractor of Linglong.

Serbian investigators concluded that neither incident was a case of human trafficking, a move that was criticized by grassroots groups like ASTRA and by Tomoya Obokata, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.

Obokata told the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network that it was part of a "dangerous trend" of Serbia ignoring potential human-trafficking cases.