10 The Chinese Embassy supported and organized the China Alumni Association of Latvia for students who used to study in China, even though the organization is portrayed publicly as a grassroots movement. It has also published and allegedly bought articles in Latvian media touting China’s growth, supporting increased trade with Latvia, and presenting China as an active and responsible global leader. The Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Latvia works on the promotion of trade and facilitates relations with political and business leaders of Latvia. 9 These events are attended by some in Latvia’s political and economic elite, especially members of the Kremlin-leaning Harmony party.
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The China Cultural Center opened in 2015 with the goal to popularize Chinese culture through various events, such as art exhibitions, movie screenings, seminars, and the like. There are three other active organizations associated with Chinese influence in Latvia. There have been accusations that the institute gathers information on students involved in its activities. 8 Latvia’s security services warn that it poses intelligence risks and is disseminating ideological messages favorable to China’s Communist Party. 7 The University of Latvia’s Confucius Institute is run by a sinologist, former diplomat, and KGB agent, Peteris Pildegovics.
5 Riga Stradins University, which established its own Confucius Center in 2005 and translated its webpage into Chinese, aimed to attract students from China through “successful cooperation with the Chinese Embassy.” 6 In addition, 14 schools in Latvia hosted Confucius Classrooms (Chinese language study programs) as of 2019. 4 At Riga Technical University, the Confucius Institute and the Chinese Embassy have established a Confucius Classroom, with a library, Chinese language studies, and student exchanges. 3 From 2011 to 2019, the university received $700,000 from China in support of the institute. Officially, the institute, which has been embedded within the University of Latvia since 2011, aims to promote the Chinese language and culture and to facilitate student and faculty exchanges.
The Confucius Institute and the Chinese Embassy are active within the three most prominent universities in Latvia. The Chinese Embassy in Latvia is the key player in advancing covert and overt malign influence in Latvia, via a network of affiliated organizations, especially in academia, economic investments, and information operations. 2 CCP’s methods, tools, and tactics for advancing malign influence According to the Security Service, China’s goals are twofold: to “obtain information about processes in NATO and EU, as well as distributing favorable information, justifying China’s foreign policy and lobbying closer cooperation with China.” 1 Chinese activities also seek to repair the country’s public image in regard to COVID-19 and to gather information about people and organizations critical of China. The State Security Service, which is in charge of counterintelligence in Latvia, has observed increased activity and interest from Chinese intelligence and security services.
The goals are primarily to create a positive image of China, gather information on and establish contacts with the political and economic elite, and probe possibilities for major investments in Latvia. Goals and objectives of CCP malign influenceĬhinese malign influence efforts in Latvia so far have been relatively passive.
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This report is a part of #CCPinCEE, a series of reports published by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) analyzing Chinese influence efforts and operations across the nations of Central and Eastern Europe.
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