October 4, 2023 All day
China’s rising influence in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been a subject of great debate and contention in contemporary times. BRI-related Chinese investments in the region peaked around 2016, and subsequently economic and political relations soared, especially with the introduction of the 16+1 (later 17+1 with the entry of Greece) mechanism. While the ground realities of Chinese investments in the CEE region were contentious, at best, concerns about China’s ‘debt trap diplomacy’ making its way into European nations (many of them EU members) set alarm bells in Brussels. A common EU position calling out China’s abysmal human rights record and other issues has become increasingly challenging due to objections from EU member states who share close bilateral ties with Beijing. Brussels’ fiscal and monetary policy and its austerity measures on weaker economies have come under fire for pushing Southern and CEE nations to China. However, since the high of 2016, the China-CEE relationship has cooled considerably. China’s economic aggression against Lithuania owing to the latter’s ties with Taiwan raised renewed fears about its ability and willingness to weaponize Europe’s economic dependencies on the Chinese market. Multiple CEE nations have subsequently left the 16+1 mechanism, as the BRI’s initial momentum has stalled. There are rising concerns about China’s attempts to extend its jurisdiction over Chinese citizens and diaspora in Europe and Chinese influence operations in the continent.
