#China
Views of China’s Development Model in CEE? Wrong Question
How is China’s development model perceived in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries? The question is neither arbitrary nor an academic time-killer. It is the topic of a battery of studies and a 2017…
The Pirate Problem
Prague‘s mayor Zdeněk Hřib (The Pirate party) has become an unexpected ‘troublemaker’ for China’s relations with the Czech Republic.
Czechia and China on a Collision Course
On September 9, the new Czech Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (Czech Social Democratic Party, ČSSD) met with Zhang Jianmin, the Chinese ambassador to Prague, to debate Czech-Chinese cultural relations. While the issue of…
A Diplomatic Incident in Lithuania Troubles Its Relationship with China
On August 23 Lithuania along with the other two Baltic states, Estonia and Latvia, commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way, one of the world’s largest ever peaceful political demonstrations. In 1989 approximately…
Chinese Influence in Bulgaria: Knocking on a Wide Open Door?
China’s influence in Bulgaria has been distinguished by two overarching tendencies in recent years. Chinese economic presence in the country has remained limited in comparison to other Central and East European states, marked by…
The Golden Handcuffs of Chinese Investment
China’s investments in the Baltic countries are so far insignificant, but the Chinese have their eyes on large strategic infrastructure projects, developments that are simultaneously tempting and worrying to the Baltics. During a dinner…
What’s at Stake in Hong Kong?
History is in the making on the streets of Hong Kong. Are we witnessing just another example of civil disobedience and popular demonstrations? Or perhaps this is another iteration of a ‘color revolution’, as…
China’s Fight Against “Erroneous Opinions”
China has been trying to control narratives on the Hong Kong protests in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. The results have been mixed at best. On August 19, the Center against Terrorism and…
Mr. Blaha Goes to Tibet
Slovak MP Ľuboš Blaha visited China in August, extolling the Chinese communists’ achievements in Tibet.
The Curious Case of the China-Loving Slovak Parliamentarian Ľuboš Blaha
A Member of Parliament of the Slovak Republic Ľuboš Blaha led a parliamentary group on a visit to China in the second half of August, visiting Beijing and Tibet. Blaha’s real-time inflammatory ‘reports’ from…
Trojan Horses, Jilted Suitors
In recent years, Poland has been seen by some observers as a willing decoy for China as it seeks to wedge itself into Europe, and the arrest in January of a Huawei executive seemed…
The EU Badly Needs to Raise its Game on China
An effective EU China policy requires a critical mass of policy makers and practitioners who have studied China, its history, its political system and its language. We need them urgently. We cannot count on…