VSChinese investments in non-EU Balkan countries continue to grow. The region remains stuck in the EU waiting room as well as the Euro-Atlantic sphere of influence, but is taking every opportunity to deepen its economic, political and, to some extent, cultural ties with Beijing.
The so-called Western Balkan states – all located in the center and south of the Balkan peninsula, not the west – have always attracted the interest of regional actors, Russia, Turkey and the European Union . The United States, as a major world power, traditionally has the last word in matters of coal-rich region. Not long ago, China, through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), expanded its partnership with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The BRI, launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping in Kazakhstan, aims to connect Asia with Europe and Africa through major infrastructure projects, trade facilitation, financial integration and cooperation in other areas. In the Balkans, Beijing is mainly interested in infrastructure and energy.
According to the American Enterprise InstituteChina’s investments and contracts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia amounted to $14.6 billion between 2005 and 2019. This amount is relatively small, given that the European Union still represents more than 14.6 billion dollars. 70% of overall direct investment in the region. On the other hand, China’s share in the Balkan countries only represents 5.7% of the region’s overall trade.