German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday that China must not link its investments in the western Balkans to political demands.
“I have no objections to the fact that China wants to trade … and to invest,” Merkel said at a Berlin press conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.
“We are committed to free trade,” she added, but stressed that “it must be reciprocal” and that openness must come “not just from one side but from all sides”.
“The question is … are the economic relations being linked with political questions?” she added, stressing that this would “not be in the spirit of free trade”.
China has invested heavily in a massive “New Silk Road” initiative of overland infrastructure links between Asia and Europe, raising European fears about Beijing’s growing political influence.