China's investment projects in the European Mediterranean countries within the framework of “Belt and road”
The objective of the research is to identify the key areas of Chinese investment activity in the EU countries of the Mediterranean Region within the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative (BRI) since 2013. The author used legislative documents and other materials from official websites of EU institutions and state bodies of China and EU countries of the Mediterranean Region. The paper discusses the main Chinese “Belt and road” projects in the region; analyzes key issues of their implementation; studies mechanisms of cooperation between China and European countries within BRI. The research reached the following conclusions. The key areas of China’s investments in the countries of the European Mediterranean Region were accumulated in the area of on-land transportation and sea infrastructure. The successful implementation of infrastructure projects will allow China not only to reduce the average shipping time to Europe, but also to increase the volume on imported goods. This can be achieved by increasing the capacity of existing European transport hubs and building new ones. However, one can’t draw any conclusions about economic efficiency of BRI projects since most of them are still in the early stages of planning or implementation. The key issues of BRI projects implementation accumulated since 2013 were negative reaction from the EU institutions to China’s investment activity in the region (which led to the introduction of a number of legislative measures aimed to limit Chinese economic activity); suspicion from Europeans governments about Chinese goals and priorities in the region; the lack of a unified approach by China to implement BRI in a region. Chinese BRI investment activity analysis in the region indicates that China prefers bilateral approach towards cooperation. Since 2013, Beijing has successively convinced three Mediterranean states (Greece, Italy and Portugal) to officially join the Belt and Road. At the highest level, memorandums of understanding as well as a number of agreements on the construction of infrastructure projects were signed. Chinese state and private companies are also actively investing in the construction of infrastructure and other projects in the region. However, China’s strategy in most countries of the region is more similar to selective investments in key areas of the economy, rather than a clearly defined cooperation program between China, local authorities and business.
Keywords
integration projects,
China’s investments,
EU-China relations,
Belt and Road,
ChinaAuthors
| Pakulin Vitaly S. | Tomsk State University | pakulin.vitalii@gmail.com |
Всего: 1
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