Initiative boosts cooperation
Over the past five years, China’s circle of friends among the Central and Eastern European countries has expanded rapidly. Before 2012, bilateral relations between China and the CEE countries had remained a good but general level.
When China proposed to develop cooperation with the
16 CEE countries through the “16+1” cooperation mechanism, most of the leaders and diplomats from those countries were surprised. What followed was a drastic change in the “wait and see” attitude of the CEE countries. In the initial stage, the huge diversity among the 16 CEE countries was reflected in the attitudes and actions of the officials, diplomats and experts from those countries.
When the general program of the Belt and Road Initiative was made public in March 2015, the 16 CEE countries were viewed as the countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt from China’s perspective. On the one hand, thanks to the numerous mutual exchanges under the framework of the 16+1 mechanism, the CEE countries exhibited more and more positive, or at least neutral, attitude toward China. On the other hand, the Belt and Road Initiative’s focus on the five main pillars of policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond made the CEE countries realize that these were also main areas they needed to improve. Of course, there are more opportunities in the fields of infrastructure, trade and financial cooperation.
After the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, the China-CEE cooperation mechanism and the Belt and Road Initiative are playing complementary roles in strengthening the relationship between the two sides.
China’s initiative appealed to the CEE countries not only because of its potential to raise investments and profits, and expand markets, but also because of China’s development approach, which could provide an alternative development model for developing countries.
Chinese wisdom is blazing a new trail in countries that want to expedite their development while safeguarding their independence.
The Belt and Road Initiative is also an expression of Chinese thoughts on international relations, and demonstrates the Chinese concept on building a community with a shared future for mankind. Therefore, strategic views and practical plans to solve the perception gap between the Chinese and CEE peoples will be critical to the development of the 16+1 cooperation mechanism in the next five years. transportation, communications, sanitation and water supply. The growing urban inequality, poverty and exclusion in fast growing agglomeration, too, needs to be addressed. Better understanding of different cultures seems crucial.
And the future of work and artificial intelligence are another area for serious discussions and solutions.
The establishment of a research network of scientific institutions from Central and Eastern Europe and China is the result of long-term efforts and the work of researchers from the partner institutions. It provides opportunities for scientific and research cooperation, interdisciplinary projects, exchanges of scientists and students.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, it is a platform for dialogue and collaboration on global issues and joint research projects in fields such as economics, management, medicine, commodity science, construction, geology, electro-mechanics, telecommunications, biology, chemistry and meteorology. This is a first step toward establishing broader cooperation among universities and academic institutions from China and the Central and Eastern European countries.
Academic cooperation is a crucial pillar of the relations between China and CEE countries in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. There is no better way to build trust and understanding than people-to-people contact. Besides, closer cooperation at the academic level should enable the flow of ideas, values, innovations and innovative thoughts to benefit from synergies, build mutual understanding between nations and to bring regions closer, concentrating on similarities rather than obstacles and impediments, contributing to the wealth of nations, civilization progress and harmonious global community. skeptics came as no surprise.
While such remarks should be worrying for Belt and Road Initiative communicators, their intensity is also a proof of rising legitimacy of the initiative, particularly in CEE. It is a clear indication of future challenges and hurdles, but also a signal for strengthening the initiative’s resilience, especially in the strategic communication framework.
Serbia is specific — it is militarily neutral and not a European Union member. In May, Serbia established the “National Council for Cooperation with Russia and China”, a channeling and coordinating body for cooperation which allows higher transparency, better coordination between ministries, and faster contact with the administration.
Yet the success of Belgrade-Beijing cooperation lies in closing of the “say-do” gap. It has moved from sketches to implementation. Beyond well-known cases such as the building of the Pupin Bridge in Belgrade, other positive developments include the HBIS-run Smederevo steel mill plant on the Danube becoming Serbia’s largest exporter in July.
The China Communication Construction Company is moving ahead with plans to build the second part of the Belgrade-Adriatic highway, with the first progressing on schedule. Work on the Serbian part of the highspeed railway to Budapest is set to start. And the Belt and Road’s northsouth and east-west connections in Serbia are increasingly visible.
There is no doubt that the European Commission will closely scrutinize Belt and Road- related projects. And yet another factor will put the strength and motivation of the 16+1 (16 CEE countries plus China) mechanism to test. Will EU members in the CEE support the Belt and Road Initiative strongly enough in the face of potential challenges, legal hurdles in particular, created by the EU? How resilient will be the CEE countries that are also EU members against the pressures exerted by Brussels and, possibly, Washington?
Official rhetorical support for the Belt and Road Initiative is important. But without political will, administrative capacity and foreign policy flexibility, it will have difficulties in meeting the objectives. And precisely these three factors will distinguish the “leaders” from the “laggards”, and contribute to a “multiple-speed” 16+1 mechanism.
disagreements with Beijing, or have minimized them.
This, Brussels believes, endangers the implementation of a Common EU Foreign and Security Policy. Germany and France are the most affected countries, because they have invested a lot in the definition of a common EU policy. That’s why we need to think about new strategies and tactics.