The Chinese charm offensive of ’16+1′ in Central and South-Eastern Europe has led to newly gained self-confidence for a region that was long time subject to either foreign rule or peripheral neglect.
This analysis assesses the roles played by EU and non-EU members inside the grouping by comparing the interacting roles of two smaller European regions – the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and the Western Balkan States (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) with Beijing.