China’s Interaction With CEEC

China and Europe are linked closely not only by trade but also by investment.EU’s second biggest partner in trade is China(after the United States),and for China the EU is the biggest trading partner.Since 2012 to nowadays,China has gathered 17(16 for present)countries of central and eastern Europe(CEECs),where among are 12 EU Member States and five Western Balkan countries,under the 16+1/17+1 format of cooperation(former 16+1)which it has announced as an innovative and new regional cooperation approach.Taking into consideration an analysis made by the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project,People’s Republic of China has made a great contribution toward infrastructure(around $15.4 billion)and other investment in the 16+1/17+1 countries since 2012 in areas such as energy,information technology,manufacturing,transport,real estate,communication technology,and mergers,and acquisitions.China is the most important partner in foreign trade for Serbia in Asia and China plays an important role in achieving Serbia’s strategic economic objectives.As Serbia lacks financial resources to realize all the economic development goals which were planned,gives China an opportunity to invest its financial resources on agreeable conditions using the openness of the Serbian market and good bilateral relations which have reciprocal trust and benefits.Collecting data from the books,secondary sources,research papers and interviews from people in research and decision-making structures,with a focus on Serbia,this dissertation offers a reading of the opportunities to be explored as to the growing and unstoppable presence of China in Central and Eastern Europe.For the research and discussion of ‘China’s Interaction with CEEC: A Case Study of Sino-Serbian Relations’,the dissertation will be divided into six chapters.The first chapter will be an introduction to the study chapter,which will explain the academic problem,significant questions,central arguments,methodology and objective of the research.In first chapter,relevant available literature and the literature,which the researcher used in this study,will be reviewed.Moreover,it will contain interviews with the fellow researches and professors regarding the main questions of the dissertation.The second chapter will focus on the theoretical and conceptual framework,which will explain the strategic,political and economic dimensions of Sino-Serbian bilateral relations and contain theoretical framework applying neo-realism to Sino-Serbian relations.The third chapter will concentrate on a deep understanding of China BRI and 16+1/17+1 initiative mechanisms,China’s interest in CEE countries and will help to explore China’s investments and trade in the region.Chapter 4,as part of the case study,focuses on the evolution of Sino-Serbian relations and Serbian foreign policy.The fifth chapter,as the main chapter of the dissertation with the focus on Serbia will discuss China-Serbia political and cultural cooperation,China-Serbia trade relations,paying big attention to the Chinese FDI in Serbia and infrastructure projects,and with the accordance to the recent events will be laid out Sino-Serbian cooperation during COVID-19 pandemic and the future prospects of China-Serbia relations will be discussed.In chapter 6,as a case study conclusion chapter,challenges and restrictions for Sino-Serbian cooperation will be discussed.