A New Silk Road to Europe

Last week, Belgrade was the centre of economic and political events in Europe. The Serbian capital hosted a summit of China and the leaders of 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which was the largest such event after 1989, when Belgrade hosted a Non-Aligned Movement summit. The gathering was given extensive coverage by regional and world media. More by Slađana Pavić.

Serbia has taken advantage of the opportunity to, as the host of the third summit of China and the leaders of 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, show to the world that it is a door to the Chinese capital for the Balkans and Europe, and the venue for meetings of the Serbian PM with counterparts from 15 countries, with whom he has agreed on several projects.

For several days that preceded the gathering, there was rumour in Serbia that Brussels does not approve of such gatherings. Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić said that, for Serbia, EU membership is a national priority, but so is the invitation of Chinese PM Li Keqiang to Europe to support China’s cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

On the other hand, Serbian analysts do not conceal their hope that such gatherings and China’s intention to spread economically, could serve as a lesson to Europe for replacing the policy of constant conditioning with a policy of favourable loans and infrastructural investments.

A professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade, Predrag Simić, believes that the visit of the Chinese delegation represents the peak of a line that was started in September 1977, when Yugoslav President Tito normalized relations with China after the Chinese Cultural Revolution and when China proved to be one of the most reliable foreign policy partners of Yugoslavia and Serbia alike.

Through the region, China wants to establish, along a new silk road, a land and maritime link with Europe, assesses Simić. The neglectful attitude towards the Western Balkans, its delay on the EU integrations course and the lack of significant investments has paved a way to others to reach their West European clients through this region.

The president of the Roman Institute for International Organizations, Franco Frattini, believes that it was Serbia that has benefited most from the summit of China and the leaders of 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe as the signed agreements open the door to new Chinese investments. German Ambassador Heinz Wilhelm shares his opinion, pointing to the importance of Beijing’s message that EU regulations will be obeyed in the implementation of projects.

The summit of China and the leaders of 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe was attended by 16 prime ministers, hundreds of delegation members, 500 large international companies with 1,200 representatives. The gathering was covered by more than one thousand journalists, twice as many as in the previous two summits. The first direct economic effects were felt by Belgrade hotel and restaurant managers, who, according to the Belgrade Tourist Organization, earned some one million euros in total during the summit.