China-CEEC cooperation mechanism "pragmatic, inclusive and mutually beneficial", says Croatian scholar

Ivica Bakota, an assistant professor at China Normal University and co-founder of a Zagreb-based think tank, CroAsia, highlights the pivotal role of the China-CEEC Cooperation Mechanism. In a video interview with Guangming Online, the Croatian scholar described it as a “common platform” that enables Central and Eastern European countries “catch up with cooperation opportunities with China”.

Bakota sees the mechanism as a western extension of the Belt and Road Initiative, tailored to specific profiles of the countries and general conditions of the region.

“Pragmatism was from the beginning,” he noted that China-CEEC cooperation focuses primarily on economic cooperation without involving any direct geopolitical intentions.

“I think it's also important to emphasize that it incorporates this, as a Chinese saying goes, this Qiu Tong Cun Yi,” Bakota further explained. “It is, first of all, a mutually agreed way to focus on economic goals while also putting all other differences aside.”

Bakota commended the efforts made to synergize endeavors, coordinate main infrastructure projects, and facilitate cooperation among countries within the mechanism. He cited the ongoing Budapest-Belgrade railway modernization as an exemplary project which is expected to link important transportation hubs along the “Belt and Road”. “It is a project that fits the main national strategic development and infrastructure plans of countries along the route, and a project that gives a voice to all these participating countries,” he emphasized.

Furthermore, pragmatism can also be seen in measures such as “sub-state level connection”, which help address various asymmetries existing in bilateral cooperation between China and the CEE countries, he added.

Despite the growing tendencies toward protectionism and decoupling, Bakota believes that the deepening China-CEEC cooperation will yield more benefits for all parties involved amid headwinds.