ECONOMY

China strengthens its influence in the Balkans and encourages Euroscepticism !?

United States and Europe are preparing a plan for new security challenge

Huawei: Breakthrough in the telecommunications market. Archive

Piše: Tarik Lazović

The People's Republic of China plans to finance the re-shooting of the film classics "Walter Defends Sarajevo" and "Bridge" as part of a diplomatic offensive in the region, according to an extensive document of the United States Congress, "Daily Avaz" acknowledges. 


New technologies

Information about a possible remake of famous and very popular films in China was found in a document in which the United States analyzes China's activities in Europe and the region so far and suggests new ways of concrete cooperation in fighting Beijing's growing influence, especially in the Balkans.

- The United States and Europe increasingly agree that China poses a significant political, economic and security challenge. Our next step is to translate this deep agreement into a concrete joint plan by which we will defend our interests and values - it is stated in the document of the American Congress.

Washington is thus proposing to reject malignant influence, protect the integrity of international organizations, combat China's distortions of competition and economic practices, invest in new technologies and prevent the security implications of China's strategic investments in energy, transport and digital infrastructure. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington concluded late last year that China's influence in the region is growing and that slow progress towards EU membership makes it possible and encouraging.

- The Western Balkans are fertile ground where due to economic stagnation, weak governments, corruption and high unemployment rates, Chinese state-owned companies can very easily take root - the study of this organization states.

Chinese economic diplomacy has become increasingly active in the region in recent years.

In Croatia, they received a mega-project for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, and in B&H, a generational project for the construction of Block 7 of the Thermal Power Plant in Tuzla. Also, they penetrated the telecommunications sector, where their company "Huawei" got the job of introducing 4G technology in FB&H. But economic diplomacy, no doubt, is accompanied by political diplomacy. The document of the American Congress cites a number of examples where China, after deploying it, began to use economic power very brutally for political purposes.

In that sense, recently published document of the China-CEE Institute, based in Hungary, concerning the political events in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which expresses skepticism about B&H's European path, is very indicative.

As we have learned, the promotion of Euroscepticism is one of the goals of Chinese action in this part of Europe, because the imminent integration of the countries of the region into the EU would prevent the continuation of Chinese breakthrough.


B&H is doing nothing

- The core of the diplomatic blockade in the relations between B&H and Kosovo does not lie in a well-defined policy, whatever the policy is, but in the pure impossibility of adopting any policy on that issue. The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina's "aspirations" towards the European Union is very similar in nature. Although, on one hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina seems to strive for "European" standards regarding politics, governance, judicial systems, ethical premises, etc., which undoubtedly sounds appealing when various politicians in the country assess them as goals, but the state does nothing or "almost" nothing as far as the actual movement towards such goals is concerned - the report of the Chinese organization concludes.