CONFLICTING VISIONS OF CONNECTIVITY: EU’S AND CHINA’S INFRASTRUCTURAL AGENDAS FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS
Keywords:
BRI, connectivity, Western Balkans, EU, China
Abstract
This article examines the strategic engagement of the European Union and China in the Western Balkans, analyzing their respective approaches through the EU Connectivity Agenda and China’s Belt and Road Initiative from 2015 to 2020. While both initiatives sought to enhance regional connectivity and infrastructure, they were shaped by differing agendas rooted in national interest. The EU’s approach focused on fostering economic integration and regulatory alignment with Europe, prioritizing shared standards and sustainable development. Conversely, China’s approach emphasized rapid infrastructure development as a means to expand its geopolitical influence, often leveraging state-driven investments to further its strategic interests. This study underscores how these competing agendas manifest in significant investments and their resulting impacts on regional infrastructure, economic growth, and political dynamics. The intensifying geopolitical competition between the EU and China also brings new challenges for the Western Balkan states, including debt dependency and sovereignty concerns, as they seek to balance foreign influence with national priorities. This analysis offers insight into the region’s evolving role within the broader global landscape, revealing the long-term implications of external powers pursuing both connectivity and national interests in shaping its development.
References
Anthony, Ian, Jiayi Zhou, Jingdong Yuan, Fei Su, and Jinyung Kim. 2021. China-EU Connectivity in an Era of Geopolitical Competition. SIPRI Policy Paper 59.
Ari, Anil, David Bartolini, Vizhdan Boranova et al. 2020. Infrastructure in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe: Benchmarking, Macroeconomic Impact, and Policy Issues. Departmental paper series no. 20/11. International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC.
Bastian, Jens. 2017. The potential for growth through Chinese infrastructure investments in Central and South-Eastern Europe along the Balkan Silk Road. EBRD.
China Global Investment Tracker. 2024. “Database.” American Enterprise Institute. https://www.aei.org/china-global-investment-tracker/.
Council of the European Union. 2021. “Council Conclusions – A Globally Connected Europe.” https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10629-2021-INIT/en/pdf.
Dinwiddie, August Nelson. 2020. “China's Belt and Road Initiative: An Examination of Project Financing Issues and Alternatives.” Brooklyn Journal of International Law 45 (2): 745–776.
Đorđević, Branislav, and Nenad Stekić. 2022. “Beyond China’s Grand Strategy Cultivation: Connectivity as Neglected Variable.” In The Connectivity Cooperation Between China and Europe: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis, eds. Liu Zuokui and Branislav Đorđević, 51–71. London: Routledge.
European Commission. n.d. “ASEM Sustainable Connectivity Portal.” Last accessed 13 November 2024. https://composite-indicators.jrc.ec.europa.eu/asem-sustainable-connectivity/about.
European Commission. n.d.a. “Global Gateway.” Last accessed 15 November 2024. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/global-gateway_en.
European Commission. 2015. “Connectivity Agenda: Co-financing of Investment Projects in the Western Balkans in 2015.” https://www.wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/27.%20Vienna-Info-Pack-Final.pdf.
European Commission. 2016. “Connectivity Agenda: Co-financing of Investment Projects in the Western Balkans in 2016.” https://www.wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/26.%202016-Paris-Summit-Package.pdf.
European Commission. 2018. “Connectivity Agenda: Co-financing of Investment Projects in the Western Balkans in 2018.” https://www.wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/15.%20Connectivity-Agenda-Co-financing-of-INV-Projects-in-the-WB-Rev-LONDON.pdf.
European Commission. 2018a. “Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank Connecting Europe and Asia - Building blocks for an EU Strategy.” Brussels, 19.9.2018 JOIN(2018) 31 final.
European Commission. 2019. “Projects presented under the EU-China Connectivity Platform.” https://transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2019-11/eu-china-connectivity-platform-projects-2019.pdf.
European Commission. 2020. “Brochure on EU Connectivity Agenda for the Western Balkans.” https://wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/brochure_wb_connectivity_agenda_en.pdf.
European Commission. 2021. “EU-Western Balkans Boosting Coonectivity.” https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/043cc2e1-0ca6-4c0e-9b76-f9cc8c251a35_en.
European Commission. 2021a. “Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank The Global Gateway.” Brussels, 1.12.2021 JOIN(2021) 30 final.
European Union External Action [EEAS]. 2019. “Joint Statement of the 21st EU-China Summit.” https://www.eeas.europa.eu/node/60836_en.
Flint, Colin, and Cuiping Zhu. 2019. “The Geopolitics of Connectivity, Cooperation, and Hegemonic Competition: The Belt and Road Initiative.” Geoforum 99: 95–101.
Gaens, Bart, Ville Sinkkonen, and Henri Vogt. 2023. “Connectivity and Order: An Analytical Framework.” East Asia 40 (3): 209–228.
Godehardt, Nadine, and Karoline Postel-Vinay. 2020. Connectivity and Geopolitics: Beware the “New wine in Old Bottles” Approach. SWP Comment, 35/2020. Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik.
Grieger, Gisela. 2018. China, the 16+1 cooperation format and the EU. European Parliamentary Research Service.
International Monetary Fund [IMF]. 2024. “World Economic Outlook (October 2024) – GDP based on PPP, share of world.” https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPSH@WEO/EU/CHN/USA.
JP Autoceste FBiH. n.d. “Počitelj – Zvirovići.” Last accessed 22 November 2024. https://www.jpautoceste.ba/pocitelj-zvirovici/.
Karjalainen, Tyyne. 2023. “European Norms Trap? EU Connectivity Policies and the Case of the Global Gateway. ”East Asia 40 (3): 293-316.
Pavlićević, Dragan. 2014. “China’s railway diplomacy in the Balkans.” China Brief 14 (20): 9–12.
Scull, Danny, and Claire Healy. 2022. One Vision in Three Plans: Build Back Better World & the G7 Global Infrastructure Inititaves. E3G Briefing Paper.
Stanicek, Branislav, and Simona Tarpova. 2022. China’s strategic interests in the Western Balkans. European Parliament Briefing, Members’ Research Service.
Stanojević, Nataša, i Katarina Zakić. 2023. Ekonomski uspon Kine: Strategija i dinamika međunarodnih ekonomskih odnosa. Beograd: Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu.
Tonchev, Plamen. 2022. China’s Road: into the western Balkans. European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).
United Nations. 2015. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Western Balkans Investment Fund [WBIF]. n.d. “Connectivity Agenda.” Last accessed 22 November 2024. https://www.wbif.eu/sectors/connectivity-agenda.
Wildmann, Manuel. 2021. The EU Connectivity Strategy: Putting Words into Action. EIAS Briefing Paper, No. 02/2021.
Yoshimatsu, Hidetaka. 2023. “Japan’s strategic response to China’s geo-economic presence: quality infrastructure as a diplomatic tool.” The Pacific Review 36 (1): 148–176.
Xiao, He. 2022. “Western Balkan 6 Connectivity Agenda with the Belt and Road Initiative”, In The Routledge Handbook of the Belt and Road (Second Edition), eds. Cai Fang, Peter Nolan, and Wang Linggui, 510–514. London and New York: Routledge.
Zweers, Wouter, Vladimir Shopov, Frans-Paul van der Putten, Mirela Petkova and Maarten Lemstra. 2020. China and the EU in the Western Balkans: A zero-sum game?. Clingendael Report.
Ari, Anil, David Bartolini, Vizhdan Boranova et al. 2020. Infrastructure in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe: Benchmarking, Macroeconomic Impact, and Policy Issues. Departmental paper series no. 20/11. International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC.
Bastian, Jens. 2017. The potential for growth through Chinese infrastructure investments in Central and South-Eastern Europe along the Balkan Silk Road. EBRD.
China Global Investment Tracker. 2024. “Database.” American Enterprise Institute. https://www.aei.org/china-global-investment-tracker/.
Council of the European Union. 2021. “Council Conclusions – A Globally Connected Europe.” https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10629-2021-INIT/en/pdf.
Dinwiddie, August Nelson. 2020. “China's Belt and Road Initiative: An Examination of Project Financing Issues and Alternatives.” Brooklyn Journal of International Law 45 (2): 745–776.
Đorđević, Branislav, and Nenad Stekić. 2022. “Beyond China’s Grand Strategy Cultivation: Connectivity as Neglected Variable.” In The Connectivity Cooperation Between China and Europe: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis, eds. Liu Zuokui and Branislav Đorđević, 51–71. London: Routledge.
European Commission. n.d. “ASEM Sustainable Connectivity Portal.” Last accessed 13 November 2024. https://composite-indicators.jrc.ec.europa.eu/asem-sustainable-connectivity/about.
European Commission. n.d.a. “Global Gateway.” Last accessed 15 November 2024. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/global-gateway_en.
European Commission. 2015. “Connectivity Agenda: Co-financing of Investment Projects in the Western Balkans in 2015.” https://www.wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/27.%20Vienna-Info-Pack-Final.pdf.
European Commission. 2016. “Connectivity Agenda: Co-financing of Investment Projects in the Western Balkans in 2016.” https://www.wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/26.%202016-Paris-Summit-Package.pdf.
European Commission. 2018. “Connectivity Agenda: Co-financing of Investment Projects in the Western Balkans in 2018.” https://www.wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/15.%20Connectivity-Agenda-Co-financing-of-INV-Projects-in-the-WB-Rev-LONDON.pdf.
European Commission. 2018a. “Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank Connecting Europe and Asia - Building blocks for an EU Strategy.” Brussels, 19.9.2018 JOIN(2018) 31 final.
European Commission. 2019. “Projects presented under the EU-China Connectivity Platform.” https://transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2019-11/eu-china-connectivity-platform-projects-2019.pdf.
European Commission. 2020. “Brochure on EU Connectivity Agenda for the Western Balkans.” https://wbif.eu/storage/app/media/Library/6.%20Connectivity%20Agenda/brochure_wb_connectivity_agenda_en.pdf.
European Commission. 2021. “EU-Western Balkans Boosting Coonectivity.” https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/043cc2e1-0ca6-4c0e-9b76-f9cc8c251a35_en.
European Commission. 2021a. “Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank The Global Gateway.” Brussels, 1.12.2021 JOIN(2021) 30 final.
European Union External Action [EEAS]. 2019. “Joint Statement of the 21st EU-China Summit.” https://www.eeas.europa.eu/node/60836_en.
Flint, Colin, and Cuiping Zhu. 2019. “The Geopolitics of Connectivity, Cooperation, and Hegemonic Competition: The Belt and Road Initiative.” Geoforum 99: 95–101.
Gaens, Bart, Ville Sinkkonen, and Henri Vogt. 2023. “Connectivity and Order: An Analytical Framework.” East Asia 40 (3): 209–228.
Godehardt, Nadine, and Karoline Postel-Vinay. 2020. Connectivity and Geopolitics: Beware the “New wine in Old Bottles” Approach. SWP Comment, 35/2020. Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik.
Grieger, Gisela. 2018. China, the 16+1 cooperation format and the EU. European Parliamentary Research Service.
International Monetary Fund [IMF]. 2024. “World Economic Outlook (October 2024) – GDP based on PPP, share of world.” https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPSH@WEO/EU/CHN/USA.
JP Autoceste FBiH. n.d. “Počitelj – Zvirovići.” Last accessed 22 November 2024. https://www.jpautoceste.ba/pocitelj-zvirovici/.
Karjalainen, Tyyne. 2023. “European Norms Trap? EU Connectivity Policies and the Case of the Global Gateway. ”East Asia 40 (3): 293-316.
Pavlićević, Dragan. 2014. “China’s railway diplomacy in the Balkans.” China Brief 14 (20): 9–12.
Scull, Danny, and Claire Healy. 2022. One Vision in Three Plans: Build Back Better World & the G7 Global Infrastructure Inititaves. E3G Briefing Paper.
Stanicek, Branislav, and Simona Tarpova. 2022. China’s strategic interests in the Western Balkans. European Parliament Briefing, Members’ Research Service.
Stanojević, Nataša, i Katarina Zakić. 2023. Ekonomski uspon Kine: Strategija i dinamika međunarodnih ekonomskih odnosa. Beograd: Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu.
Tonchev, Plamen. 2022. China’s Road: into the western Balkans. European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).
United Nations. 2015. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Western Balkans Investment Fund [WBIF]. n.d. “Connectivity Agenda.” Last accessed 22 November 2024. https://www.wbif.eu/sectors/connectivity-agenda.
Wildmann, Manuel. 2021. The EU Connectivity Strategy: Putting Words into Action. EIAS Briefing Paper, No. 02/2021.
Yoshimatsu, Hidetaka. 2023. “Japan’s strategic response to China’s geo-economic presence: quality infrastructure as a diplomatic tool.” The Pacific Review 36 (1): 148–176.
Xiao, He. 2022. “Western Balkan 6 Connectivity Agenda with the Belt and Road Initiative”, In The Routledge Handbook of the Belt and Road (Second Edition), eds. Cai Fang, Peter Nolan, and Wang Linggui, 510–514. London and New York: Routledge.
Zweers, Wouter, Vladimir Shopov, Frans-Paul van der Putten, Mirela Petkova and Maarten Lemstra. 2020. China and the EU in the Western Balkans: A zero-sum game?. Clingendael Report.
Published
2025/02/07
Section
Scientific papers