Portugal’s support for China’s belt and road plan sets alarm bells ringing in Brussels
- Despite protestations of other EU member states, economic cooperation with China is vital to less wealthy nations, observers say
Portugal’s decision to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on its “Belt and Road Initiative” is likely to fuel concerns within the European Union about Beijing’s efforts to extend its geopolitical influence in the region, analysts said.
The formal agreement, which was signed on Wednesday during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Lisbon, came as Beijing has been seeking to build closer relations with Eastern and Central European countries – including deals already struck with Greece and Hungary – which some EU members have described as an “attempt to divide Europe”, they said.
Getting a signature from Portugal – the first Western European country to endorse Xi’s transcontinental infrastructure development and investment strategy – is likely to be regarded as a coup for Beijing, as Lisbon had been under pressure from other EU countries, including France, not to do so, according to Wang Yiwei, a professor of European studies at Renmin University in Beijing.
“The precedent set by Greece inspired Portugal,” he said, adding that the latter was in dire need of investment and that the EU had done little to help.
“Economic cooperation with China matters to these countries,” Wang said.
Beijing has for many years played a significant role in shoring up Greece’s economy. In 2008, state-owned Cosco began operating a container port in Piraeus – the largest in the eastern Mediterranean – when Athens was on the brink of bankruptcy. The company now owns a two-thirds stake in the profitable facility.