Közép- és Kelet-Európa, illetve Kína együttműködésének perspektívái, különös tekintettel a V4 országok geopolitikai és geoökonómiai érdekeire

Absztrakt

The „16 + 1 cooperation” launched by China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries in Warsaw in 2012, has become the most significant transregional platform of the region in the past couple of years. The platform that encompasses 11 EU member states, 5 Balkan countries and China, aims to intensify cooperation among the partners in the field of transport, investment, financial services, education and culture.
As for economic ties, the emphasis is put on the expansion of trade relations in the framework of the 16 + 1 cooperation. Five years ago, the partners set the target that the trade flow between China and the CEE countries should reach the value of 100 billion USD. Although a significant increase has been registered in the trade flow, the latter ambitious objective has not yet been met. From the CEE region, it is the Visegrád 4 countries that have exported and imported the most from China in the past few years.
Nevertheless, the 16+1 mechanism is still perceived mostly positively by the participating countries. On the one hand, this can be explained by the fact that the platform is the most consciously developed element of China’s policy on Europe and play a pivotal role in China’s foreign policy in general. On the other hand, it is regarded as an essential tool for the CEE countries to break out from the periphery of the region.
As far as the Visegrad Four (V4) countries are concerned, the analysis presented in the paper shows that the V4 play a leading role in the regional economy and have had remarkable success strengthening their economies to compete effectively on international level as well. According to the data obtained, the V4 countries are likely to benefit most in terms of trade and investment interests from the 16 + a platform. It is remarkable that they represent more than half of the population and nearly two-thirds of the economic output of the 16 CEE member countries within the “16 + 1” format. Enhanced connectivity and increasing investment flows have made it possible for each of the V4 countries to reposition itself under the umbrella of the Chinese-CEE co-operation.
The present study analyses the impact of the 16+1 cooperation on the trade and investment relations of the participating countries, with special emphasis on the Visegrad 4 members.