On 22 March, 2020 a Chinese medical team arrived in Serbia as a part of Beijing’s attempt to shift the narrative around COVID-19. By distributing aid during the pandemic, Beijing wanted to shift the blame for the crisis from its own early, opaque policies, in 2019, to Western governments struggling with the virus. The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, was at the airport to greet the medical team. He said that, “Chinese experts are the first to have defeated the virus. From now on, we will do everything they say.” He greeted the doctors with elbow bumps, thanked them, and kissed the Chinese flag. Chinese state media and official Twitter accounts actively spread the image of the Vucic kissing the flag and portrayed China as a well-intentioned benefactor.