China’s think tank sector has seen a significant increase in political attention and available resources, but its development is still hindered by the domestic political dynamics of the PRC. Think tanks are caught between incompatible goals pursued by different parts of the government and struggle to raise their international profile as intended. While realizing these… Continue reading Pascal Abb: China’s think tank drive is caught up in internal political divisions
In the CEE countries, Chinese investments amount to a little more than 1 per cent of China’s total commitment in the EU – the 11 EU members attracted in total less Chinse FDI than Finland. This shows that what counts for Chinese investors is primarily technology, small deposits of which were bought out long time… Continue reading All quiet on the Eastern front: Chinese investments in Central Europe are still marginal
April 2019 brought about the annual succession of China-related summitry for the European countries: the EU-China summit and the meeting of the China-CEEC Cooperation (with the “16+1” transforming into “17+1”). First, the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang met with the representatives of the EU institutions in Brussels on April 9. This was followed by the… Continue reading Chinese Media Watch: China-EU & China-CEEC Cooperation in 2019
A new external player with a comprehensive strategy is entering the region with the intention to stay for an indefinite time. This will cause long-term implications in Eastern Europe in terms of reshuffling of geopolitical and geo-economic reality involving Russia and the West. In the presence of various significant external actors in Eastern Europe, Beijing… Continue reading China’s West meets Europe’s East
Any connectivity project – especially, on the scale of the BRI – is likely to have unexpected results. The main unintended effect of the China-CEE “16+1 platform” has been the criticism from the EU. Multiple high-level summits, business meetings, and statements by representatives of the CEE countries and China seem to be framing a new… Continue reading The Unintended Effects of China’s Silk Roads in Central and Eastern Europe
