#Serbia
Major Chinese Investment in Serbia Mired By Worker Abuse Controversy
Vietnamese workers employed by the Chinese firm Linglong Tire in Serbia were living in conditions that have understandably shocked onlookers. Accommodated in old, rusty barracks, not outfitted for a chilly Balkan winter, the employees…
China’s Economic Influence Impacts Governance and Climate Policy in CEE
Long-lingering concerns about Chinese influence at the EU’s doorstep have recently become a harsh reality. Montenegro has become a symbol of the debt problems developing countries can fall into by signing on to a…
China’s ‘Digital Silk Road’ Enters the Western Balkans
The Digital Silk Road (DSR), an important component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is an increasingly scrutinized aspect of China’s foreign policy toolbox that combines the efforts of the Chinese government and…
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fishy Promises
CEE-China cooperation could be quite different after Lithuania’s withdrawal from the 17+1 platform. As Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz and his crew of demolition spaceships were nearing Earth to make space for a galactic bypass, the…
Serbia Turns Multi-Vector Foreign Policy into Development Model… With China’s Help
Few people following international affairs will have missed the now infamous photo of the Serbian President, Alexander Vucic, kissing the Chinese flag at Belgrade Airport a year ago. In the global scramble for protective…
Big Brother: Serbia’s Media Are Creating Nation of China Lovers
This story was originally published by BIRN’s English language website Balkan Insight. Close connections with the Serbian political elite and the favourable presentation of China in Serbian media, especially from outlets close to the…
Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy Reigns Supreme in Serbia
This article was originally published in The Diplomat and is republished here with the permission of the author. When a plane carrying a million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the Chinese company Sinopharm landed…
Serbia’s Balancing Act on China
In early September, the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić sat next to his US counterpart Donald Trump and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti in the Oval Office to announce the restoration of economic ties…
China, Pandemic and the Western Balkans – Lessons for the EU?
When announcing the state of emergency in Serbia on March 15 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić declared the notion of European solidarity non-existent, “a fairy tale on a paper”,…
Learn the Rules to Master the Game: Chinese Infrastructure Investments in the Balkans
With activities ranging from hastily assembled initiatives to holistic market assessments, Chinese companies are getting their foot in the door to the Balkans-with clear intentions of leaving a lasting footprint in the region’s infrastructure…
In Serbia, the Chinese Trojan Horse Tactic Works – For Now
Speaking in July 2018, then European Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hanh referred to Balkan countries that were the recipients of Chinese infrastructure financing, like Serbia and Montenegro, as China’s potential Trojan horses among future…
A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed – Belgrade Leans Closer to Beijing in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Epidemic
As Serbia fights the coronavirus outbreak it is once again looking to China for support. Coupled with the indignation with the EU’s response, Serbia seems to be moving even closer to Beijing’s orbit. However,…