Ana Krstinovska, one of the authors of this publication, believes that Chinese influence in the countries of the Western Balkans is most pronounced in trade relations. It has grown primarily in the last decade thanks to the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe. Still, the stagnation of some Western Balkans countries towards the EU has opened additional opportunities for China to increase its influence, whether it is business or some other kind of influence.

Mainly we see an increase in the impact on the economy through increased trade, but in translation, this means significantly increased imports from China. Our exports have increased slightly, but it is not in line with our expectations of how much we can import given the size of the market in China, says Krstinovska.

Chinese influence in Macedonia is expressed through investments

Although Macedonia is the least attractive country for China, Chinese companies have been observed to have bought foreign companies that have factories or production facilities in our country, so indirectly, China owns those production facilities in our technologically developed zones; we also see the Chinese presence through infrastructure projects such as the Kicevo-Ohrid highway in our country.

Krstinovska says that Chinese influence should not be judged as bad, but there are also examples of negative influence, such as the conclusion of an agreement for the Kicevo-Ohrid highway.

- Only the Ki?evo-Ohrid highway is counted because the contract award procedure was non-transparent. Even though SDSM had the option to terminate it, it continued with additional annexes for 200 million euros, and we see that the project is not even close to being completed. Therefore, it is an example that realistically depicts the negative aspects of the Chinese presence in our country; unlike Serbia, she said we do not have large infrastructure projects or investments with a negative impact.

And whether that influence will be reflected in our process towards the EU, she said that it depends only on us and the implementation of reforms that, among other things, include limiting the space for external influence.

- What is essential on the way to the EU is how we will position ourselves and how much desire we will have to implement reforms. The Chinese presence in the country can be positive if we use it as a positive, and it can be damaging if we allow the conclusion of agreements on public procurement that are not by our legislation or European regulations. We are implementing membership reforms, and some will contribute to limiting the space for Chinese companies to do business or to conclude some deals behind closed doors, as was often the case in the past years. Still, she said China itself or the Chinese presence cannot be said to be the main obstacle.

Economic relations with other countries are not bad, but the focus should be on European goals.

Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation office in Skopje, Daniel Braun, emphasized that although trade and economic relations with other countries are never wrong, he said it is essential to focus on the EUs goals, which differ from Chinas.

- China and the EU have different goals, but that doesnt mean we shouldnt use Chinese technology. But if we have security insecurities, we may ask ourselves if we will use it. We should not sever all relations with China, but we should understand that we are talking about two sides with different goals; no one is saying not to learn Chinese but to be aware of what may result from our actions. I believe that people in the region are getting positive points from Russia and China as a result of the disappointment in the EU due to the EU accession process. Therefore, even if we are unsure whether the regions countries will join soon, we should work on strengthening ties, giving more benefits that the EU countries have to the Western Balkans countries, according to Brown.

The "steel friendship" of China and Serbia was crowned by free trade

Regarding Chinese investments, Serbia is the most attractive country, and the closeness of the two leaders from these countries plays a significant role. This was proven by yesterdays signing of the free trade agreement, allowing both countries to export and import raw materials without customs costs or significantly lower tariffs. In addition to this agreement, the two countries signed a memorandum on exchange and cooperation in economic development policy, a memorandum on joint promotion of industrial and investment cooperation, and a medium-term action plan for the "Belt and Road" Initiative.

Serbia is a country negotiating for EU membership, but at the same time, it is strengthening relations with China, with which it cooperates in infrastructure and defense. Representatives of the two countries have been describing their mutual relations for years as "sincere friendship."

The conclusions from the promotion of the publication "Chinas Influence on the Western Balkans EU Accession Process: Synergies and Obstacles" aimed to stimulate discussion on the spheres in which Chinese influence is present and what the consequences could be in the future.

- We need to contribute to the opening of the panel at a debate on Chinas influence its presence in the region and to determine its positive and negative influence in the area, as well as in how many spheres it operates and how much it affects the undermining of the EUs authority in the region and how the influence China can be harmful to the Euro-Atlantic process, which all the countries in the area are committed to, and how we and the EU countries can act to suppress or adequately respond to its influence, explains Katerina Jakimovska from the Wilfrid Martens Center for European Studies in Brussels.

Otherwise, the general conclusions of the panel are that, as far as Russian and other non-European actors are concerned, if stagnation in European integration continues, it is logical to expect an increased presence of other non-European actors in the Western Balkans countries.

^{North Macedonian Media Partner Link: https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/zastojot-na-patot-kon-eu-gi-pravi-zemjite-od-zapaden-balkan-ranlivi-na-kinesko-vlijanie/}