Diplomatic World_nummer 57

EU-China cooperation provides the fundamental basis
for the growing relationship with the CEEC. The 16+1
framework forms an important part of this, and serves as
a valuable addition to EU-China relations. Collaborative
projects between China and the CEEC should not,
therefore, divide the EU and hamper European
integration.
Foreign policy is to serve domestic politics and economic
development. Professor Chunrong Liu from the Fudan
Centre at Copenhagen University discussed recent
Chinese domestic political changes and their impact
on Chinese foreign relations and the interconnectivity
with the EU and the CEEC. Professor Nako Stefanov
from Sofia University commented on the Chinese “new
normality” economic policy. He concluded that “new
normality”, together with the fourth industrial revolution
(based on the fusion of diverse technologies) for which
China is well-positioned, explained China’s active
international cooperation programmes such as the
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), providing bigger
opportunities for further EU-China and CEEC-China
cooperation.
EU-China and CEEC-China cooperation
is important for both sides
Professor Chun Ding, Jean Monnet Chair of the Centre
for European Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai,
gave an overall review of EU-China economic relations.
Specifically, he discussed several key areas of ongoing
EU-China economic disputes such as the free market
economy status, trade imbalance, comprehensive
investment agreements, European skepticism on the BRI,
… He remained quite optimistic about the future of EU-
China relations and especially the CEEC-China economic
cooperation. Professor Weiping Huang, Jean Monnet
Chair of the Centre for European Studies at Renmin
University of China, compared the advantages of CEEC-
China cooperation for both China and the CEEC.
For China, it is an opportunity to promote further market
reform and innovative capacity development. China and
the CEEC have a long-standing deep-rooted friendship.
The six-year 16+1 mechanism has already produced
an early harvest. He suggested five fields for further
cooperation, namely trade and investment, connectivity,
cooperation modes, financial support, and people to
people communication.
The Role of the Balkan region and Bulgaria in
EU-China and CEEC-China relations, and the BRI
Professor Dinko Dinkov from Sofia’s University of
National and World Economy, gave a presentation on “The
Balkans Crossroad: Opportunities for enhancing EU-China
Relations”. He argued that the Balkans are well located on
the crossroad connecting Europe, Asia and Africa. It is a
paradox that the region’s infrastructure remains very poorly
developed, with restricted capacity to support the current
high level of interactions in all fields of social and economic
life. The CEEC-China cooperation framework and the BRI
provide good opportunities for the region to promote the
interests of the EU and China, as well as the region itself,
and to reinforce the development of Balkan infrastructure,
transport, communication and trade.
Professor Georgi Chobanov from Sofia University
provided a picture of Balkan short cuts in a modern silk
road. It seemed to him that the BRI can be regarded as
a world geo-political and geo-economic development,
and a win-win project for generating additional resources
and furthering the historical convergence of Eastern and
Western Civilizations. He also advocated the concept of
the “Rose Road”, i.e. “the short cut of the Silk Road via
Bulgaria”. The city of Bourgas and the Port of Bourgas
could serve as a logistic centre on the Silk Road, both
on land and sea, with further railway connections to
Plovdiv–Sofia-Vidin and Central Europe. Professor
Evgeniy Kandilarov from Sofia University gave a detailed
analysis of the role of Bulgaria in the 16+1 and the BRI.
The inclusion of the 16+1 cooperation mechanisms into
the BRI was the most important and promising element
for the CEEC.
The Bulgarian government declared its strong commitment
to supporting Chinese companies wishing to invest in
Bulgaria in sectors in which Bulgaria has traditional
strengths, especially those providing high added value and
increased competitiveness, such as engineering, automotive
technologies, electronics, information and communication
technologies, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry,
agriculture and the food industry, increasingly supported
with the facilities of new industrial zones and hi-tech parks.
Bulgaria has always emphasized its desire to attract Chinese
companies to invest in Bulgarian industrial zones, which
are supported by the National Company Industrial Zones.
Professor Xiang Deng, Jean Monnet Chair from Sichuan
University in Chengdu, described recent developments of
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