China’s “New Silk Road” in the post-Soviet space. What does this mean for European businesses?

The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and the associated New Silk Road are enormous investment and infrastructure strategies of historic dimension. Since October 2013, China has invested USD 421 billion into the 75 semi-official Silk Road countries. On one hand, these Chinese investments provide new opportunities for European enterprises, as the respective countries get the basic infrastructure they desperately need. On the other hand, however, the question arises which chances and political risks are associated with China’s New Silk Road in the post-Soviet space. Our newspaper commentary identifies two different trends in this regard. External political risks (at regional level) have recently lost significance: despite China entering Moscow’s Near Abroad (the post-Soviet space), China and Russia have opted to harness synergies. At country level, though, the Silk Road countries are shaped by political risks characteristic of post-Soviet countries, such as legal uncertainty, low guarantee of property rights and clientelism by the ruling elites.

For more information, please follow the link to our newspaper commentary (in German): https://apps.derstandard.at/privacywall/story/2000107131246/wie-bedeutet-chinas-neue-seidenstrasse-fuer-die-unternehmen-europas