Chinas Economic Presence and Political Influence in Eastern Europe

Abstract

In recent years, the media and expert discourse have widely spread perceptions of China’s dynamic expansion of its economic presence in Central and Eastern Europe and the accompanying increase in Beijing’s political influence on the countries of the region. This perception is strongly encouraged by the position of certain Western European countries and the EU bureaucracy, which view China as an actor that undermines European solidarity and spreads illiberal values and business practices. The purpose of this article is to assess the real scale of China’s economic presence in Eastern Europe, based on an analysis of official statistics, and to determine the extent to which it converts into Beijing’s political influence over the countries of the region.