Garcevic Interviewed on China’s Influence in the Balkans
Ambassador Vesko Garcevic, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed for an article on China’s growing influence in the Balkans.
Garcevic was interviewed for an August 15, 2018 article by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty entitled “Do Chinese Loans Lead to Political Dependence in the Western Balkans?”
From the (translated) text of the interview:
Balkans states and China are in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but the region is still unaware of potential risks of dealing with China. Hence, it’s not whether or not to do business with China; the question is how to make yourself able to negotiate a fair deal. Given the democratic deficit on the Balkan side, states in the region have put themselves in a position of passive dependency on China. Chinese loans, granted under soft and permissible conditions, have also led to an increase in the region’s debt burden. The states from the Balkans have recently borrowed billion dollars from Chinese state-controlled banks.
For countries in the Balkans, China is a perfect case of a successful marriage of interests. The Balkan states all need money – and China seems willing to invest it in their region China gives loans and become heavily engaged in the region, but countries and their citizens will be paying off those loans in years to come. Beijing arranges the financing of projects, and sends its own workers, keeping the participation of local companies to a minimum. This approach has nothing to do with investments. Furthermore, China doesn’t abide by European rules and standards when it develops its projects.
During his diplomatic career, Amb. Vesko Garcevic dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as a Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School.