The Western Balkans and China’s Digital Silk Road: Keen Strategic Cooperation or Cautious Limited Engagement

Summary

China’s engagement in the Western Balkans has multiple impacts for the region’s countries in terms of geopolitics, security, human rights and democracy, relations with the EU and the United States.Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia have different approaches when it comes to engaging with China, which are strongly related to the crucial issue of membership in the EU and NATO. 

China has promoted its Digital Silk Road (DSR) in the six countries, which cooperate with it to varying degrees. This has increased its influence in the region. While the DSR offers technological and economic benefits for the countries in the Western Balkans, it also has serious geopolitical, national security, and foreign-influence implications for them. 

Huawei is the main Chinese telecommunications company involved in the Western Balkans, as elsewhere. It is active in the region in the development of digital infrastructure, smart cities, data centers, and 5G networks. However, there are concerns about its ties with the Chinese Communist Party regime.

In recent years, as a result of their domestic politics and geopolitical choices, some of the Western Balkans countries started to take a clearer stance against China’s influence and involvement in their digital infrastructure. 

When it comes to their relationship with China and Huawei in the development of their digital and telecommunications infrastructure, the six countries have chosen either keen strategic cooperation (Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, though the latter’s positioning is complex due to its specific constitutional setup as a state) or cautious limited engagement (Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia). Montenegro is somewhat between the two positions.

All six Western Balkans countries should be more aware of the risks and challenges associated with the development of their digital and telecommunications infrastructure. They should formulate and implement clear strategies so that this development does not harm their citizens’ fundamental rights and security, without forgoing the immense economic and connectivity benefits that come from digital technological advances. This is especially the case with regard to the involvement, to whichever extent, of China and Huawei in this domain. The six countries would gain from introducing measures and policies for building a secure digital future through collaboration and integration with trusted vendors.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and in particular Serbia need to be more cautious about engagement with China in this regard and show greater realization that this can jeopardize their aspirations for joining the EU and (for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia) NATO. Beijing’s influence has not only brought challenges for the three countries. They will not benefit from drawing close to China in the long term either; instead, they are being positioned as pawns for Beijing as it pursues technological supremacy.

Arta Haxhixhemajli is a ReThink.CEE Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. This paper is published under the ReThink.CEE Fellowship.

Arta Haxhixhemajli is a researcher in Kosovo and a policy fellow with Young Voice Europe. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Warsaw, and a Master’s degree in world politics and international relations from the University of Pavia. Her expertise includes international relations, security, and geopolitics.