China’s Investment and Infrastructure Cooperation with Balkan Countries

Abstract

The author examines the cooperation of the PRC with countries in the Balkan region in the areas of investment and infrastructure. The study focuses on China’s economic relations with key actors in the Balkan region: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The subject of the study is investment and infrastructure cooperation of China with the countries of the region in the context of the project «One Belt One Road». The author examines in detail the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the economies of various countries, major FDI flows, the development of the financial sector of the PRC, the cooperation of China in the field of FDI and infrastructure with the main actors of the Balkan region. The author pays special attention to the aspect of implementation of the project «OBOR» in the context of cooperation of China with the countries of the Balkan region. This study is based on the theory of political realism. The main conclusions of the study are the definition of the initiative «One Belt One Road» as a key factor of cooperation of the People’s Republic of China with the countries of the Balkan region, the identification of the main directions of investment of the People’s Republic of China in the Balkan Peninsula: The Republic of Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, analysis of the impact of political differences between the Governments of the States of the region and the People’s Republic of China on the flow of foreign direct investment and infrastructure projects.