ABSTRACT
The increased presence of China in the six Southeast Europe countries (SEE6) faces criticism on issues ranging from alleged geopolitical designs to badly implemented projects, force-feeding corrosive capital, or corruption of local politicians. But SEE6 agency when dealing with Chinese companies has not been properly analyzed. It is SEE6 decision-makers who determine which infrastructure project to prioritize, what financing mechanism to use and with what conditions, which procurement rules to apply, or to accept (or not) the completed infrastructure. Painting local actors as passive in face of the Chinese gives a biased view of SEE6 investment context. Worse, putting all the blame for project failure on Chinese companies masks the inherent SEE6 home-grown problems. The China principle of non-interference in host country national conditions does not take into account the existence of those host country problems. Nor have Belt and Road authorities established the relevant mechanism to deal with the challenges posed by host country context. The SEE6 is a special region defined by its engagement to full EU membership, alongside an increasing presence of Chinese companies. Consequently, both China and the EU have overlapping interests and agency in the SEE6. Tackling home-grown governance problems that affect infrastructure projects may be an opportunity for pragmatic cooperation.
