Upcoming China-CEEC summit to inject fresh idea into China-EU ties

As the third leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) is to kick off on Tuesday in Serbia, European scholars viewed it will bring new opportunities to deepen not only China-CEEC ties but also China-EU relationship.

Leaders from CEEC as well as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will attend the meeting. The 16+1 meeting mechanism was launched in 2012 as a platform for China-CEEC cooperation, and 11 out of the 16 countries have joined the European Union (EU) and the other five have also set a target for the membership in the bloc.[Special coverage]

TIES BECOME MORE INTENSIVE

Nirj Deva, Chairman of the EU China Friendship Group within the European Parliament, said relations between China and the CEEC have garnered increasing attention over the past year.

The two-way trade volume hit 50 billion U.S. dollars from January to October of this year, seeing a 10.1 percent year-on-year growth.

He said moreover, the 2008 economic crisis highlighted the potential dangers of CEEC's reliance on the economic ties with western Europe as western Europe demand fell.

"In such a light, the CEEC likely view every investor as a blessing, diversifying their collective economies and potentially mitigating further shocks to global trade," said Deva.

Justyna Szczudlik-Tatar, a China analyst with the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), said in recent 2-3 years, China-CEEC relations are definitely more intensive than previous, with many summits, meetings, dialogues which are taking place under the 16+1 format or bilateral relations.

"In that sense China and CEEC are re-discovering with each other," she said.

She noted that it is very important as for more than two decades, the relations with China were not very intensive as CEEC were focused on "turning back to Europe" approach, such as membership in NATO, and did not have enough capabilities and financial resources to closely cooperate with distant partners such as China.

"Now we are catching up and China's interest in CEEC puts us on the agenda," she said.

NOT DETRIMENTAL TO OVERALL EU-CHINA TIES

Shada Islam, policy director of think-tank Friends of Europe, said initially many in the EU institutions were wary of the 16+1 dialogue, seeing it as detrimental to overall EU-China relations. But she thought those fears have now eased.

"EU member states -- small and big -- should seek stronger bilateral ties with Beijing. And China is clearly interested in doing the same with EU member states," she said, adding that in fact, this relationship could act as a catalyst to inject fresh thinking and ideas into the wider EU-China conversation.

Szczudlik-Tatar said to some extent 16+1 format is a stimulus for EU-China relations, noting the format upgrades CEEC position in the EU.

What is more, future results of 16+1 cooperation such as Chinese investments in CEEC, rise of trade relations and improvement of connectivity under the Silk Road concept all will be beneficial for the EU and EU-China relations as these projects and activities may narrow the development gap between Western and Eastern part of Europe and improve connectivity with China, she said.

"Additionally, interests of China and Europe are convergent: China wants to export to Europe, but we do not want to limit Chinese import which is necessary for us. China wants to import goods such as food, while we have high-quality, rather cheap, safe and tasty food. China wants to locate investments, we are interested in attracting them from China," she said.

ESSENTIAL LINK IN NEW SILK ROAD

Given its geographical location, CEEC are going to be an essential link in China's Silk Road initiative and in fact these countries believe that such connectivity is very important for their future economic growth and welfare, including the creation of jobs, said Islam.

China and Europe already have direct cargo connections. Szczudlik-Tatar said from Polish perspective, best examples are Chongqing-Xinjiang-Duisburg train, which travels across Poland, and two direct connections of Chengdu-Lodz and Suzhou-Warsaw lines between China and Poland, which were opened last year.

Szczudlik-Tatar said at the Belgrade summit that China, Hungary and Serbia are expected to finalize a contract for building Hungary-Serbia high speed railway and construction will start in 2015.

"New transport connections may facilitate connections inside Europe as well," she said.

Deva said the current connectivity between CEEC and China appears to be one of mutual benefit. Whilst CEEC's individual economies will likely flourish from a fresh injection of investment, and CEEC offer China potential for fresh export markets and entry points into the wider European internal market.

"Such a mutual gain will in all probability bind the two sides together," he said.