China’s Interests in the Balkans

Abstract

The study focuses on the interests of the People’s Republic of China in the Balkans. The study focuses on the political and economic relations of the People’s Republic of China with key players in the Balkans: Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Turkey. The author examines in detail the national interests of the People’s Republic of China vis-à-vis the States of the region. Close attention is paid to the tension in the region and ways of its alleviation by the People’s Republic of China. This study is based on the theory of political realism characterizing relations between States as rivalry or enmity for the purpose of defending their national interests. The absence of confrontation between States is seen as a temporary phenomenon replaced by confrontation and/or military action. During the study the author applied institutional, analytical and problem-chronological methods. The main conclusions of the research are the establishment of the interests of the People’s Republic of China in the Balkan region in the context of the implementation by the People’s Republic of China of the project «One Belt and One Road», the land part of which is called «The Economic Belt of the New Silk Road», affects key players in the Balkan Peninsula: the Turkish Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. The author found an exception to the policy of economic expansion of the People’s Republic of China in the person of the Republic of Srpska. Moreover, the growth of trade between the People’s Republic of China and Serbia, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria has been given close attention. The urgency of the study is due to the growing political and economic influence of the People’s Republic of China throughout the world, not excluding the Balkan region.