China-Europe partnership benefits all

Editor’s note: In the run-up to the Seventh Leaders’ Meeting of China and Central and Eastern European Countries in Sofia, Bulgaria, eight scholars share their views with China Daily on the role of the 16+1 (16 CEE countries plus China) framework and Belt and Road Initiative, and regional geopolitics amid rising protectionism. Excerpts follow:

Central and Eastern European countries play a very important role in the Belt and Road Initiative and China’s trade with Europe. The inclusion of the “16+1 cooperation” mechanism in the Belt and Road Initiative as a framework of different mechanisms and arrangements between China and the 16 CEE countries is one of the most important and promising elements for the CEE countries.

The 16 CEE countries see China as a relevant market and a valuable source of investment, at least at the declarative level. The differences across the region are significant in many areas, including the economic development level, per capita income and institutional framework. And Brussels is concerned about reciprocity and access to the Chinese market for European companies.

Although the Bulgarian government has announced many times that it is motivated to support and actively participate in the initiative for cooperation between China and the CEE countries, and considers it an important platform for expanding bilateral ties as well as an effective addition to EU-China relations, Bulgarian political actions and positions have been quite different and inconsistent. But Bulgaria should be considered a bridge between Europe and Asia with a number of geopolitical and geo-economic advantages.

For Bulgaria, the Belt and Road Initiative is a strategic opportunity to be part of a newly emerging market. If Bulgaria really wants to be part of this project in the Balkan region, it has to compete with its neighbors, and make concerted efforts and negotiate with China by making clear its strategic interests and future plans. tion” of intellectual property through “joint venture requirements and other policies that force technology transfers” represent new breaking points in both US-China and EU-China relations.

China favors flexible institutional structures, following the experimental “Asian way”, and it believes they can bring benefits for all the participants, as all of them are invited to contribute to the agenda according to their priorities.

As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the 16+1 cooperation platform is regarded by China as a framework that brings complementarities and synergies to the EU’s initiatives, and therefore contributes to the “balanced development throughout Europe”. If any countries still have doubts, they should discuss it directly with China. ing partner and crucial source of foreign direct investment. On the other hand, China is the biggest market for the EU’s goods and commercial services, and second-largest trading partner — after the United States.

Katarzyna Anna Nawrot, an assistant professor at Poznan University of Economics and a member of the Committee of Future Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw