The ‘16+1’ Framework and China-EU Cooperation in the Western Balkans: A Region Building Perspective

Authors

  • Shaohua Yan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30722/anzjes.vol11.iss1.15210

Keywords:

EU, China, 16 1, Western Balkans, Region-building, Cooperation

Abstract

This paper adopts a region-building perspective to shed light on the nature of the 16+1 framework and elucidates what it means for EU-China cooperation in the Western Balkans. By comparing the 16+1 framework with the European approach to region-building in the Western Balkans, the paper argues that the Chinese and European approaches towards the Western Balkans are largely complementary rather than competitive as China’s engagement works to facilitate the EU’s agenda in the region. The ‘outside-in’ perspective brought about by China via the 16+1 framework could contribute to region- building in the Western Balkans and the EU and China could jointly move forward the next stage of European integration.

Downloads

Published

2021-02-07

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Articles

License

Submission of an original manuscript to ANZJES will be taken to mean that it is an original work not previously published.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 Licence that allows others, including the author, to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the original author and initial publication in this journal.