Brussels, Belgium, 15 November 2017

The German Institute for International and Security Affairs – Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), the Austro-French Centre for Raprochement in Europe (ÖFZ/CFA), the Institut français des relations internationales (ifri), the Cooperation & Development Institute (cdi) and the Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE) kindly invite you to a jointly organised expert seminar on the Western Balkan development perspectives and the role of China.

Through its 16+1 Framework and its multi-billion fund set up to finance large infrastructure projects and bilateral trade as well as the Belt and Road Initiative, China has entered the economic and political stage in South Eastern Europe. Although Chinese investments are often directed towards projects included in the EU’s Connectivity Agenda for the region, their modalities differ from EU standards and practices. However, for a region struggling to attract European and other foreign direct investments (FDI), these Chinese offers may represent an alternative to the EU’s development policy scheme.

Keeping this in mind, what are the geopolitical and geo-economic implications of China’s growing presence in the Western Balkans? How do they influence the Berlin Process for the Western Balkans? The seminar will reflect and discuss these issues and questions, bringing together experts from South Eastern Europe, China, Brussels and European Union institutions.

This roundtable is an in-reach event of the Western Balkans Reflection Forum initiative. It follows up on the Western Balkans Reflection Forum of Trieste, organised on 26-27 June 2017

Full programme