BRUSSELS – Some European countries are beginning to block Chinese involvement in their economies, moving closer to US-backed positions amid growing anxiety in Europe over China’s increasingly aggressive geopolitical stance.
Governments from the Baltic to the Adriatic have recently canceled public tenders that Chinese state-owned companies were to win or intend to ban Chinese companies from investing or contracting in their countries.
The changes were driven by a mixture of concerns about national security and disappointment with the performance of Chinese contractors, say officials involved in the decisions. Some of the canceled projects were part of China’s global infrastructure initiative, Belt and Road, which disappointed several participating countries.
The change is largely taking place in smaller European countries, which adds to tensions in the European Union, where large countries still largely favor maintaining trade ties with China.
Romania and Lithuania are taking extensive measures to exclude Chinese companies from certain public procurement. Other movements are more targeted. Authorities in Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Romania have suspended public tenders involving Chinese companies for works on nuclear power plants, highways, railways, security scanners and a container shipping terminal. Greece is debating whether to allow a Chinese shipping company to increase its majority stake in the country’s largest port.