BRUSSELS – Some European countries are beginning to block China’s involvement in their economies, bringing them closer to the positions advocated by the US amid growing concerns in Europe about China’s increasingly aggressive geopolitical stance.
Governments from the Baltic to the Adriatic have recently canceled public tenders that would win Chinese state-owned companies, or plan to ban Chinese companies from investing or contracting in their countries.
The shifts have been prompted by a mix of national security concerns and disappointment with the performance of Chinese contractors, officials involved in the decisions say. Several of the canceled projects fell under China’s global infrastructure initiative, Belt and Road, which has disappointed several participating countries.
The shift is largely taking place in smaller European countries, adding to tensions within the European Union, where large countries still prefer to maintain business ties with China.
Romania and Lithuania are taking extensive measures to exclude Chinese companies from certain public tenders. Other movements are more focused. The authorities in Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Romania have suspended public tenders involving Chinese companies for works on nuclear power plants, highways, railway lines, safety scanners and a container terminal for ships. Greece is discussing whether a Chinese shipping company can increase its majority stake in the country’s largest port.