The New Silk Road and Central Europe: Eurasian integration with Chinese characteristics

Krzysztof Kozłowski

ORCID: Krzysztof Kozłowski: 0000-0003-2886-8277

Pages: 131-146

Edition: Lublin 2018

DOI: --

Citation method: Krzysztof Kozłowski, ‘The New Silk Road and Central Europe: Eurasian integration with Chinese characteristics’, Yearbook of the Institute of East-Central Europe, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2018, pp. 131-146.

Abstract: People’s Republic of China’s idea of Eurasian Integration, commonly dubbed Belt and Road initiative, is perceived as both an opportunity and a challenge for the East and Central Europe. While analyzing the execution of the Chinese regional integration policies one can identify the major motifs of Chinese rise and development, the bilateral and multilateral patterns of interaction with international actors, and the evolving Chinese attitude toward global Powers as well as toward developing states. At first, it was welcomed with open arms by many actors. However, as the time passes by, the disappointing inertia in relations between PRC and the region, as well as disturbing similarities in patterns of the Middle Kingdom relations with other parts of the World, provoke questions over the true nature of Chinese engagement with Eastern flank of EU. The paper aims to place the Chinese policies referring to Central Europe within a broader pattern of Chinese regional cooperation policies. Despite the rapid diversification of PRC regional engagement in different parts of the Globe, the scheme employed by the Middle Kingdom remains relatively similar in most of the cases, both in terms of opportunities and limitations.

Bibliography:

‘Go West, Young Chinaman: China and Central Asia’, The Economist, 6 January 2007.
‘China launches military exercise’, China Daily, 25 September 2004, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-09/25/content_377777.htm [2018-06-30].
Currier, C.L. and Dorraj, M. (eds.), China’s Energy Relations with the Developing World, New York and London: Continuum, 2011.
Economy, E.C. and Levi, M., By All Means Necessary: How China’s Resource Quest Is Changing the World, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Fornes, G. and Mendes, A., The China-Latin America Axis: Emerging Markets and their Role in an Increasingly Globalized World, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
Gavrilis, G., The Dynamics of Interstate Boundaries, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Graham, E., The Hague Tribunal’s South China Sea Ruling: Empty Provocation or Slow-Burning Influence?, Council on Foreign Affairs, 18 August 2016, https://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/global_memos/p38227 [2018-06-30].
Kaczmarski, M. and Jakóbowski, J., ‘Nietrafiona oferta Pekinu: „16+1” a chińska polityka wobec Unii Europejskiej’, Komentarze OSW, no. 250, 15 September 2017, https://www.osw.waw.pl/pl/publikacje/komentarzeosw/2017-09-15/nietrafiona-oferta-pekinu-161-a-chinska-polityka-wobecunii[2018-06-30].
Kassenova, N., ‘China as an emerging donor in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan’, IFRI Russia, 22 January 2009, http://www.ifri.org/en/publications/enotes/russieneivisions/china-emerging-donor-tajikistan-and-kyrgyzstan [2018-06-30].
Kent, A., Beyond Compliance: China, International Organizations and Global Security, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007.
Kowalski, B., ‘China’s Foreign Policy towards Central and Eastern Europe: The “16+1” Format in the South-South Cooperation Perspective. Cases of the Czech Republic and Hungary’, Cambridge Journal of Eurasian Studies, vol. 1, 2017.
Kozłowski, K., Państwo Środka a Nowy Jedwabny Szlak. Poradziecka Azja Centralna i Xinjiang w polityce CHRL, Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2011.
Lanteigne, M., China and International Institutions, Alternative Paths to Global Power, London and New York: Routledge, 2005.
Lanteigne, M., Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction, London: Routledge, 2009.
Stokes, J., ‘China’s Road Rules’, Foreign Affairs, 19 April 2015, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/2015-04-19/chinas-road-rules [2018-06-30].
Szczudlik, J., ‘Perspektywy formatu Chiny – Europa Środkowo-Wschodnia (16+1)’, Biuletyn PISM, no. 78, 18 November 2016, http://www.pism.pl/publikacje/biuletyn/nr-78-1428 [2018-06-30].
Taylor, I., The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), London and New York: Routledge, 2012.
Tiezzi, S., ‘China’s “New Silk Road” Vision Revealed’, The Diplomat, 9 May 2014, http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/chinas-new-silk-road-vision-revealed/[2018-06-30].