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The situation after the coup in Myanmar, the controversy caused by the removal of outgoing President Trump by the US Senate, criticism of the new vaccination strategy against the EU corona virus, the difficult bilateral relations between the EU and Russia etc. are all major French newspapers published on the 10th. They focus on international issues. China and the Central and Eastern European countries recently held the 17 + 1 summit again. “Liberation” and “Echo” published articles respectively to resolve the changing relations between China and the Central and Eastern European countries.
17 + 1 Summit: Central and Eastern European countries cool down in China
The “Liberation” report began with the rapid development of the China-Europe freight train network between China and Europe, noting that now 15 European countries, including France, have freight trains from China. It only takes 15-20 days to travel from Xi’an or Chongqing in China to Europe, which is half the speed of sea transportation. The new corona epidemic has not been able to stop this trend. According to data from the China National Railway Group, in the first five months of 2020, the volume of rail freight from China to Europe has grown by 44%. The freight transport situation in November last year even increased by 73% compared to the same period in 2019. Therefore, freight transport by rail can become an important part of the New Silk Road, stimulating China’s interest in European rail transport facilities. The China-Europe Rail Express is therefore a major theme of the 17 + 1 Summit of Central and Eastern Europe held on Tuesday. The Czech think tank “China Observation in Central and Eastern Europe” recently noted in a report that China needs to develop an offshore freight transport network in the region so that it can reach the target market more quickly and alleviate the China’s excess capacity. The director of the Center for China Studies at the University of Riga in Latvia told Liberation that although the concept of the new Silk Road is still vague, the rail network is an important part of this strategy for China. However, the “Liberation Daily” article noted that despite the rapid development of the rail transport network between China and Central and Eastern Europe, the Central and Eastern European countries did not express enthusiasm for Chinese President Xi Jinping at this summit 17 + 1. Romania started a procedure last week and did not clearly name Chinese companies to exclude Chinese companies from its domestic market for construction projects. Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania only sent ministers to the summit. However, Hungary, under the promotion of Prime Minister Orban, made it clear that it was friends with Beijing and announced in April last year that it had reached an agreement with China on financing the Budapest-Belgrade railway. But the content of the agreement will remain confidential for ten years. The outside world only knows that 85% of the funds for the construction of the line come from China. The report noted that this is the first time that China has promoted the China-Europe Express train project to EU member states in the region. Before this, infrastructure built with Chinese funds was limited to non-EU countries in the Balkans. The China National Railway Group also reached an agreement with Finland and Estonia on the construction of the Baltic Sea Tunnel connecting the capitals of the two countries. The director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Riga, Latvia, believes that these projects are more affected by geopolitical interests than commercial interests. The Estonian government clearly opposed the construction of the Chinese-funded project. As for the construction of the high-speed rail line connecting Tallinn and Warsaw, which concerns Chinese companies, the countries of the region do not accept the private construction of the line. The European Union will provide 85% of the funds and the intervention capacity of Chinese companies has been drastically reduced. The director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Riga, Latvia, told Liberation that the EU will do everything possible to prevent private or state-owned Chinese companies from intervening in the construction of a major European infrastructure.
17 + 1 Summit: Baltic countries are more concerned about transatlantic relations
The “Echo” report also noted that the 17 + 1 summit that began in 2012 has been somewhat inappropriate. This online summit was not confirmed until the last minute. China’s Foreign Ministry did not even mention it in its regular press conference the day before the summit. China only officially issued an invitation not long ago. This approach of speeding up last-minute arrangements is interpreted as a reminder that Beijing wants to revive friendly relations with countries in the region before the new US government returns to Europe. But not all countries showed particular enthusiasm. Both Lithuania and Estonia decided not to be represented by the president or the prime minister, and only sent ministers to speak with the Chinese president, which is a very significant diplomatic move. This report explained that Russia remains a real threat in the region, making the United States a natural ally in the region. In late December, when the European Union hastily promoted the signing of an investment agreement with China, Poland asked not to worry and emphasized that it should listen to the views of the United States before continuing to cooperate with Beijing. Faced with the threat from Russia, the Baltic states are particularly concerned about transatlantic cooperation with the United States. The EU-China Investment Agreement has also made these countries more aware that it is obviously more effective to deal with China in the form of the EU-27. A researcher from a think tank in Brussels also told “Eco” that from an economic perspective, Central and Eastern European countries are beginning to tire of China’s various commitments. China continues to explain the potential benefits of the new Silk Road to the region, but the actual effect is not significant. He noted that Chinese investment has started to decline since 2016. Central and Eastern European countries hope to invest in infrastructure construction, while Beijing pays more attention to obtaining high-tech.
Myanmar’s coup may not be beneficial for China
Furthermore, the online edition of the “Liberation Daily” published an article on China’s delicate situation in the face of the coup in Myanmar, saying that this coup may not be beneficial for China. China-Myanmar relations have always had mutual mistrust and alliances as a stopgap measure. After trying to downplay the incident this time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry finally signed the UN Security Council statement on the situation in Myanmar. The article quoted Han Enze, the website of the University of Hong Kong East Asia Forum, noting that this United Nations statement clearly expressed its support for Aung San Suu Kyi and her government and did not endorse a military coup, thereby which shows that The Tacit China Tap is not a good form. The article noted that China’s foreign minister visited Myanmar on January 11 and 12 and held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, which was interpreted as China’s recognition of the results of Myanmar’s elections in November last year. . But there was a coup in Myanmar three weeks later. A diplomat told the “Liberation Daily” that this embarrassed China on both sides, but it also lost face in China. China has been criticized by the international community because of the Uighurs issue, the Hong Kong issue and the new corona virus epidemic. You don’t really have to come off as a big supporter of a military regime. However, the article also noted that if the West imposes economic sanctions on Myanmar, China can benefit from this blow.
