Analysing Chinese Investment in the Balkan Region: A Threat to the EU

In this article, the author conducts an analysis of China’s means of influence in the Western Balkans region, and places special emphasis on the state’s economic investment in infrastructure and energy, studying its connection with Beijing’s foreign policy and that of the Balkans themselves. The main objective is to study China’s influence on the development of the region, and to ask ourselves about the role of the Balkans in the BRI, and to analyse how this investment has materialised as well as the challenges it entails for the EU. This will primarily be done through a review of data obtained both from specialised literature and from open institutions’ databases. The author concludes by pointing out that Chinese investment has not played a particularly key role in the development of the region, but that it entails risks for the EU as regards China’s cultural and political influence when presenting itself as an alternative model to the West, and that the EU faces the challenge of counteracting this influence with inclusive and attractive policies for the Balkan countries.