China in Central and Eastern Europe: New Opportunities for Small States

Speculation still exists regarding the basic aim and purpose of the “17 + 1” mechanism for cooperation between Central Eastern European (CEE) countries and China. This relationship has fallen short of initial predictions since neither anticipated economic nor political gains have been significantly achieved in the past decade. This chapter analyses how individual member states are shaping the mechanism by assessing the individual states’ economic and political motives for cooperation. Focusing on the individual countries, the study finds that contrary to the popular belief that China is using the initiative to divide or weaken the unity of EU or Western alliances, a new trend is emerging. In this trend, certain member countries are leveraging their newly forged connections with China to get closer to Western allies and to reaffirm their affiliation with the West, or to exert their independence vis-à-vis Brussels. In light of this emerging trend, the future of the initiative remains uncertain and dependent on the countries’ ability to recalibrate initial expectations and navigate their relations amidst worsening external pressures.