Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries

Last updated
Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries
中国-中东欧国家合作
Abbreviation14+1
→17+1
→16+1
→14+1
Formation26 April 2012
PurposeRegional Cooperation
Membership
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
3 Former Members
Secretary
秘书长
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Deng Li
Website china-ceec

Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEE, China-CEEC, also 14+1; formerly 17+1 from 2019 to 2021 and 16+1 from 2021 to 2022) is an initiative by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote business and investment relations between China and 14 countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE, CEEC): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. [1] [2] [3] Prior to their 2022 withdrawal, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were members of the initiative.

Contents

Format

The format was founded in 2012 [4] :138 in Budapest to push for cooperation of the "16+1" (the 16 CEE countries and PRC). In 2019 at the Dubrovnik Summit, Greece joined the grouping, while in 2021, Lithuania left it. The 16+1 meet annually; summits were held in Dubrovnik (2019), Sofia (2018), Budapest (2017), Riga (2016), Suzhou (2015), Belgrade (2014), Bucharest (2013), and Warsaw (2012). The China-CEE secretariat is in Beijing, with 16 "national coordinators" in each of the partner CEE countries. [5]

The format's goals are to promote the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and enhance cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, transportation and logistics, trade, and investment". [6] [7] These goals are supported by "growing ties in the areas of culture, education, and tourism ... cultural exchanges, think tanks, and NGOs." [6]

Summit

OrderHosting CountryCityDateTheme
1Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Warsaw 2012.4.26
2Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Bucharest 2013.11.26"Win-Win Cooperation and Common Development"
3Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Belgrade 2014.12.16"New Power, New Platform, New Engine"
4Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Suzhou 2015.11.24"New Starting Point, New Field, New Vision"
5Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Riga 2016.11.5"Interconnection, Innovation, Integration and Mutual Aid"
6Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Budapest 2017.11.27"Deepen Economic, Trade and Financial Cooperation and Promote Mutually Beneficial and Win-Win Development"
7Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Sofia 2018.7.7"Deepening Open and Pragmatic Cooperation to Jointly Promote Shared Prosperity and Development"
8Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Dubrovnik 2019.4.12"Building a Bridge of Openness, Innovation and Partnership"
9Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Video conference 2021.2.9 (postponed due to COVID)

Enlargement

Greece

In the 2019 summit (Dubrovnik), Greece, previously an observer, became a full member of the mechanism. [8]

Withdrawals

Lithuania

In March 2021, the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) reported that in February, the Lithuanian parliament agreed to leave what was previously China's 17+1 format. Foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the cooperation between Beijing and Lithuania has brought "almost no benefits". [9] At the same time, it was also reported that Lithuania would open a trade representative office in Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China (ROC), to boost unofficial relations with Taipei. [9] [10] [11]

The incident led to a diplomatic row with China and further trade disputes, including Chinese boycotts of Lithuanian components, dragging the European Union into the dispute. [12] [13] Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated in January 2022 that it was a mistake in allowing Taiwan to open a representative office under the 'Taiwan' name, and that he was not consulted on the decision. [14] Furthermore, a January 2022 poll commissioned by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs found that a large majority of Lithuanian citizens are critical of current government policy towards China, leading to opposition figures calling for the repair of bilateral relations. [15] Later on, a poll that was conducted soon after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine showed that 20% of Lithuanian respondents viewed China very negatively and 44% rather negatively. [16]

According to the Centre for European Policy Studies, Lithuania has been noted as a target of Chinese influence activities along with many countries in Europe. [17]

Estonia and Latvia

On 11 August 2022, Estonia and Latvia stepped out of the format. [18] [19]

Inactive members

Czech Republic

In January 2023, Czech president Miloš Zeman spoke with Chinese president Xi Jinping through a video conference to promote trade and bilateral relations [20] Following the end of Zeman's term in March 2023 however, the foreign ministry of the Czech Republic said it is "not an active member" of the format in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [21] The format was publicly panned by the foreign minister of the Czech Republic as lacking substance or a future. [21]

Infrastructure, investment, and trade

This includes (as of 2017) Serbia's E763 Highway project, the Budapest–Belgrade railway, and the China–Europe Land–Sea Express Route. In Croatia, a Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) was contracted for the first phase of the construction of Pelješac Bridge and its access roads. In Poland, Chinese companies acquired Huta Stalowa Wola's civil engineering machinery division and Poland's PBF bearings.

According to China Customs' statistics, China's trade volume with CEEC totaled $67.98 billion in 2017, a 15.9 percent increase compared to that of 2016. [6] According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in 2016 China-CEE trade increased to $58.7 billion (from $43.9 billion in 2010), while its investment in CEE countries has accumulated to more than $8 billion, covering industries such as machinery, chemical, telecom, and new energy. [7]

All CEEC countries host at least one Confucius Institute, and some (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Romania) host multiple of them. [22] :165

From 2012 to 2017, six new direct flight routes between China and CEEC have been opened, the number of Chinese tourists visiting CEEC increased from 280,000 to 930,000, and the number of exchange students doubled as well.[ quantify ] A China-CEEC Coordination Center for Cultural Cooperation was opened in North Macedonia. In China, the China-CEEC training center for young artists and China-CEEC Cultural and Creative Industries Exchanges and Cooperation Center were opened in the southwestern city of Chengdu.[ citation needed ]

Reaction

Jeremy Garlick, a British assistant professor at the Prague University of Economics and Business, accused China of pursuing an assertive strategy of 'divide and conquer' tactics designed to benefit China at the EU's expense. [23] Others such as the European Commission, European Parliament, and several scholars, view the China–EU cooperation as 'win–win' and mutually beneficial for China, the countries involved, and the European Union (EU). [24] [25] [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Lithuania</span> Overview of the foreign relations of Lithuania

Lithuania is a Northern country on the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, a member of the United Nations Organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the World Trade Organisation. Currently, Lithuania maintains diplomatic relations with 186 states Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on 18 September 1991, and is a signatory to a number of its organizations and other international agreements. It is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO and its adjunct North Atlantic Coordinating Council, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Lithuania gained membership in the World Trade Organization on 31 May 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of China</span>

"View the ratification status by country or by treaty". tbinternet.ohchr.org. Retrieved 15 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visegrád Group</span> Cultural and political alliance in Central Europe

The Visegrád Group is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-operation in military, economic, cultural and energy affairs, and to further their integration with the EU. All four states are also members of the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Bucharest Nine (B9).

Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia, is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria being used. For instance, the Balkans is a distinct geographical region within Europe, but individual countries may alternatively be grouped into South-eastern Europe or Southern Europe.

European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between the European Union (EU) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) or Sino–European relations are bilateral relations that were established in 1975 between the PRC and the European Community. The EU is the PRC's largest trading partner, and the PRC is the EU's largest trade partner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central and Eastern Europe</span> Geographical subregion

Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Northeast Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe, usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe, as well as from former Yugoslavia. Scholarly literature often uses the abbreviations CEE or CEEC for this term. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also uses the term "Central and Eastern European Countries" (CEECs) for a group comprising some of these countries. This term is sometimes used for "Eastern Europe" instead for more neutral grouping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

Russia–European Union relations are the international relations between the European Union (EU) and Russia. Russia borders five EU member states: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is surrounded by EU members. Until the radical breakdown of relations following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU was Russia's largest trading partner and Russia had a significant role in the European energy sector. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, relations became very tense after the European Union imposed sanctions against Russia. Russia placed all member states of the European Union on a list of "unfriendly countries", along with Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United States, NATO members, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Micronesia and Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poland–Ukraine relations</span> Bilateral relations

Poland–Ukraine relations revived on an international basis soon after Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Various controversies from the shared history of the two countries' peoples occasionally resurface in Polish–Ukrainian relations, but they tend not to have a major influence on the bilateral relations of Poland and Ukraine.

Cartoonito is a European pay television channel that airs animated programming for pre-school children. It is broadcast in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, the CIS, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the Balkans, the Baltics and the Caucasus. Cartoonito was previously the Central and European feed of Boomerang, until it relaunched on 18 March 2023 at 6am CET.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazakhstan–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

European Union–Kazakhstan relations are the international relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrida Šimonytė</span> Prime Minister of Lithuania

Ingrida Šimonytė is a Lithuanian politician, public servant and economist who is serving as the 17th and current prime minister of Lithuania since 2020. She has been a Member of the Seimas for the Antakalnis constituency since 2016 and was Minister of Finance in the second Kubilius cabinet from 2009 until 2012. Šimonytė was a candidate in the 2019 presidential election, but lost in the second round runoff to Gitanas Nausėda. She has been a member of Homeland Union since 2022, having previously been an independent politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belt and Road Initiative</span> Chinas global infrastructure project

The Belt and Road Initiative, known within China as the One Belt One Road or OBOR/1B1R for short, sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations. It is considered a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy. The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status. It has been compared to the American Marshall Plan. As of August 2023, 155 countries were listed as having signed up to the BRI. The participating countries include almost 75% of the world's population and account for more than half of the world's GDP.

The Visegrád Battlegroup or V4 EU Battlegroup is an EU Battlegroup led by Poland, in which the other fellow Visegrád Group countries – the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary participate. It was on standby from 1 January until 30 June 2016 and from 1 July until 31 December 2019. It is scheduled to go on standby in the first half of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Seas Initiative</span> International political forum of Middle-European states

The Three Seas Initiative, known also as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea (BABS) Initiative or simply as the Three Seas, is a forum of thirteen states, in the European Union, running along a north–south axis from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic and Black Seas in Central and Eastern Europe. The Initiative aims to create a regional dialogue on questions affecting the member states.

The People's Republic of China emerged as a great power and one of the three big players in the tri-polar geopolitics (PRC-US-USSR) during the Cold War, after the Korean War in 1950-1953 and the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, with its status as a recognized nuclear weapons state in 1960s. Currently, China has one of the world's largest populations, second largest GDP (nominal) and the largest economy in the world by PPP. China is now considered an emerging global superpower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Latvian Institute of International Affairs</span>

The Latvian Institute of International Affairs is a think tank in Latvia. Founded on May 20, 1992, the organization seeks to provide “Latvia's decision-makers, experts, and the wider public with analysis, recommendations, and information about international developments, regional security issues, and foreign policy strategy and choices”. They achieve this by publishing original research, hosting conferences, and partnering with other institutions in these tasks. Their research focuses on important topics such as Latvian foreign policy; transatlantic relations; European Union policies, including its neighborhood policy and Eastern Partnership; and multilateral and bilateral relations with Russia. The LIIA is a nonprofit and does not receive regular government funding. Its funding primarily comes from its partners for individual projects. While the LIIA is a non-governmental organization, they do advise the Latvian Parliament, as well as other decision-making bodies within and outside of Latvia. The current director (2011) of LIIA is Andris Sprūds.

The China-Central and Eastern Europe Investment Cooperation Fund is the investment component of the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries framework, a diplomatic initiative to enhance cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, a region in China's Belt and Road Initiative. The initial China-CEE Fund was established in 2013. Building on the success of the first fund, a second one was created in 2017.

References

  1. "Chinese '17+1' Initiative to Be Called '16+1' after Greece Joins Group". N1. April 13, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  2. Introduction of the Secretariat for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries , on the china-ceec.org web (2013/11/20)
  3. "Lithuania pulls out of China's '17+1′ bloc in Eastern Europe". POLITICO. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  4. Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   978-1-350-25231-8.
  5. National Coordinators on the china-ceec.org web
  6. 1 2 3 ‘16+1’ mechanism set to bolster China-Europe ties , on the china-ceec.org web (2018/07/10)
  7. 1 2 Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe: Promising Start, Doubtful Outlook , by Ágnes Szunomár, China-US Focus, December 6, 2017
  8. 中国政府网 (2019-04-14). "这个合作平台:希腊终于加入,还有国家递了申请" . Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  9. 1 2 "Lithuania mulls leaving China's 17+1 forum, expanding links with Taiwan". Lithuanian National Radio and Television. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  10. Sytas, Andrius (March 3, 2021). "Lithuania says will open trade representation office in Taiwan". Reuters . Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  11. "Tiny Lithuania stands up to China as Europe freezes investment pact with Beijing". 23 May 2021.
  12. Bounds, Andy (3 December 2021). "Lithuania complains of trade 'sanctions' by China after Taiwan dispute". Financial Times.
  13. Lau, Stuart; Moens, Barbara. "China's trade attack on Lithuania exposes EU's powerlessness". politico.eu. Politico. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  14. Lithuanian president takes aim at government ‘mistake’ in Taiwan representative office row, South China Morning Post, retrieved 8 January 2022
  15. Bermingham, Finbarr (13 January 2022). "Lithuanians overwhelmingly oppose Vilnius' policy on China, poll shows". SCMP. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  16. Andrijauskas, Konstantinas (2 August 2022). "Chinese Influence in Lithuania". Center for European Policy Analysis. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022. Finally, the most recent available poll, largely conducted soon after the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, showed that 20% of Lithuanian respondents viewed China very negatively and 44% rather negatively, suggesting a certain impact of the war.
  17. Andrijauskas, Konstantinas (2022-08-02). "Chinese Influence in Lithuania". Centre for European Policy Studies . Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  18. "Estonia, Latvia withdrawing from China's 16+1 cooperation format". ERR. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  19. "Latvia ceases its participation in the cooperation framework of Central and Eastern European Countries and China". www.mfa.gov.lv. Ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Latvia. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  20. "President vows to advance Sino-Czech relations". China-CECC. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  21. 1 2 "China's club for talking to Central Europe is dead, Czechs say". POLITICO. 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  22. Arežina, Sanja (2023). "China's Relations with Central and Eastern European Countries in a Multipolar World Order 2.0". China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace. Mher Sahakyan. New York: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-003-35258-7. OCLC   1353290533.
  23. Garlick, Jeremy (2019). "China's Economic Diplomacy in Central and Eastern Europe: A Case of Offensive Mercantilism?". Europe-Asia Studies. 71 (8): 1390–1414. doi:10.1080/09668136.2019.1648764. S2CID   203343108.
  24. Directorate General for External Policies of the Union (May 2020). "EU-China trade and investment relations in challenging times" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-13.
  25. "EU-China – A strategic outlook" (PDF). 2019-03-12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-22.
  26. Cihelková, Eva; Nguyen, Hung Phuoc; Wožniaková, Mária; Straková, Radka (2017-06-30). "The EU-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Context of EU General Concept of the 'Strategic Partnership'" (PDF). Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues. 6 (4): 729–744. doi: 10.9770/jssi.2017.6.4(17) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2021-01-26.

Publications