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Central Europe
July 13, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
China seeks to warm up relations with EU at 16+1 summit
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
China wants to set closer economic ties with the European Union after a trade war has erupted between the East Asian powerhouse and the US, it became apparent at the 16+1 summit in Sofia.
In a sign of Beijing’s efforts to show goodwill towards the EU, Chinese officials pledged to study and implement EU laws at a new partnership cen- tre that is to be opened in Bulgaria. The proposal, made by China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang at the summit, came days after the US imposed sweep- ing tariffs on Chinese goods and China immedi- ately did the same towards US goods.
“The countries of the 16+1 [initiative] must make
a joint statement for openness. We have already talked with [Bulgarian] Prime Minister [Boyko] Borissov that we have to study the rules and laws of the EU and of the member states,” Keqiang was quoted as saying following a meeting with Bul- garia’s Prime Minister Borissov within the 16+1 summit.
The Global Partnership Centre of CEEC and China should help Chinese companies to be aware of the rules they have to follow in Europe and what risks to avoid, and will be financed by China.
Aside from the memorandum on the new centre, 18 bilateral agreements and memorandums were signed. They included a deal worth €943mn for the reconstruction of part of the Belgrade-Bu- dapest railway, a project first announced several years earlier. With those memorandums China
China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang and his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov at the 16+1 summit in Sofia.
has promised to invest billions of dollars into de- velopment projects in the region as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
More than 1,000 businesspeople from China and Europe attended an economic forum alongside the summit, but no deals have yet been an- nounced following the forum.
The 16+1 initiative brings together 16 CEE coun- tries: 11 EU member states (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithu- ania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia) and five Western Balkan states (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia). Croatia will host the next 16+1 summit in 2019.
Divide and conquer?
Despite the conciliatory tone towards Brussels, some EU member states believe that the 16+1 summits could help China to divide Europe on topics like the EU’s single market.
There are also among international institutions that Chinese investments are to be partially blamed for the mounting debts of East European countries without contributing
to their economic growth.
Some international institutions consider Chinese investments to be major investment improve- ment, securing a much-needed infrastructure upgrade of Eastern Europe, but it comes with high risk.