China is striving to become a global power

With its foreign policy position, China has ambitions to become the number one global power and to try to strengthen its presence in Europe through political and cultural cooperation with the Balkan countries, said Milica Pejanovic Djurisic, member of Montenegro’a Atlantic Alliance Board for China’s presence and influence in the region, organized by the Digital Forensic Center (DFC). She also stressed that the war in Ukraine tested the strength and limitations of the Sino-Russian partnership.

Chris Carber, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Podgorica, believes that China is the only country that aims to change the international order and increase its economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do so.

“There are three political goals of China, namely sovereignty and territorial integrity, economic development and international status and image, and other aspects of China’s soft power should not be neglected, because it uses diplomacy very skillfully and its diplomatic network is very active.” , said DFC analyst Marko Banovic, adding that China is trying to reshape the current world order and create an order in which it will be a leader.

Milica Pejanovi Djurisic, a professor at the University of Montenegro, who was an ambassador and Minister of Defense, stressed that China is expanding its influence through the Belt and Roads initiative projects.

“Essentially, these are efforts to reshape the current world order, based on the concept of liberal democracy, in a direction tailored to China’s national interests and strategic goals,” said Milica Pejanovic Djurisic.

“The war in Ukraine tested the Russian-Chinese friendship, and in addition to the economic one, China is trying to strengthen its presence in Europe through political and cultural cooperation with the Balkan countries, and this has been particularly effective in the Western Balkans,” Pejanovic Djurisic said.

Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Podgorica, Chris Carber, stressed that China is present in the region and in Montenegro through important infrastructure projects built by Chinese companies.

“And as Montenegro seeks foreign investment, we need to keep in mind that an open investment climate, economic vulnerability to external shocks and significant debt to China pose significant risks,” Carber said. He added that Russian aggression against Ukraine shook the whole world and hit the economy, but that Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to dismantle NATO, but united it. He also noted that Montenegro is proving to be a committed NATO ally.

DFC analysts Milan Jovanovic and Marko Banovic presented the results of the study, which shows that China has three political goals: sovereignty and territorial integrity, economic development and international status and image.

China is known for its economic influence, but other institutions of soft power such as diplomacy, media and cultural and educational institutions should not be overlooked.

Marko Banovic said that China is trying to reshape the current world order and create an order in which it will be a leader.

“China has transformed from a strategic partner of the EU into a systematic rival that is trying to take the lead in Europe. The Balkan Peninsula is of great importance to China and the achievement of its strategic goals, and China is focusing on the countries of the Western Balkans.”

Banovic said that China and Chinese companies do not have media in Southeast Europe, but that in most Balkan countries the Chinese media have signed cooperation agreements with local media houses.

He stressed the cooperation between Serbia and China in all areas and that China has political and media support in Serbia, which is somewhat lacking in other countries in the region.

Chinese companies have been involved in 61 projects in Serbia in the last decade and the value of these projects is at least 18.7 billion euros.

After Serbia, China had the most significant economic and political influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Western Balkans. The political and economic link between Republika Srpska and China is logical, given that the political situation in Serbia is shifting directly to that entity, Banovic said.

China is generally perceived by the Montenegrin public as a powerful but well-intentioned world power, Milan Jovanovic said. He added that the DFC conducted a monitoring of the Montenegrin media, which showed that 53 percent of the articles were neutral, that the media mainly downloaded texts about China, and that most were written about the coronavirus, geopolitics, economy and highways. /The Geopost/