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

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.

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