Ukraine not within the target of China's CEE strategy
- By Liu Zuokui
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 27, 2014
In recent years, China has moved into diplomatic overdrive in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). Bilateral relations between China and CEECs have been greatly boosted, with China-CEE summits held in 2012 and 2013 respectively. It is worth noting that the participating countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the three "New Eastern Europe countries" (Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova) are not part of Beijing's CEE strategy, which was in fact misinterpreted during the Ukraine crisis. For example, one foreign critic wrongly argued that Ukraine poses a setback in China's CEE strategy.
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Liu Zuokui [File photo] |
Is Ukraine a key board in Beijing's CEE strategy?
The Financial Times published on March 3, 2014, an article entitled "Ukraine a setback in China's Eastern Europe strategy" stated, "Just three months ago (November 2013), China was in diplomatic overdrive to establish a grand plan for economic and political cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at a summit with 16 regional leaders in Bucharest, Romania. Since then, more than $19 billion in Chinese investment and loan pledges have flowed to the region, outstripping in scale any previous phase of bilateral economic engagement, according to research by Grison's Peak, a London-based merchant bank. The $19bn plus in pledges since November accounted for the lion's share of a total of $22.2bn in signed loan and investment deals between China and the region for all of 2013…. The revolution in Ukraine has thrown up a series of delicate questions for Beijing, which had a 'strategic partnership' with the government of ousted president Viktor Yanukovich. Ukraine was a key plank in Beijing's CEE strategy. Of the estimated $19bn in investments and loans announced since November, $8bn was destined for Ukraine."
The comments are drawing a blurred line between China-Ukraine diplomacy and China's CEE strategy, which has caused a misunderstanding of China's foreign policies in the international community and has undermined the positive momentum in China's CEE strategy.
Reasons Ukraine is not key in China's CEE strategy
Because Ukraine is not on Beijing's list of the 16 CEE countries, including the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, the Republic of Poland, Romania, the Republic of Serbia, the Slovak Republic, and the Republic of Slovenia.
So why doesn't China factor in Ukraine? Consider the following reasons:
First of all, China sees its CEE strategy as part of a broader cooperation with the European Union (EU). It is obvious that the 16 CEE countries are either EU members or candidate EU members. Ukraine, as a matter of fact, has never been considered a potential EU member. Therefore, the argument that Ukraine is "a key plank" in Beijing's CEE strategy apparently goes against China's foreign policy.
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