Chinese infrastructural investments in the Balkans: political implications of the highway project in Montenegro

摘要

This article considers the political implications of Chinese investment in Montenegro and the geopolitical background of Chinese involvement in the country. Montenegro initiated construction of the highway connecting its port city of Bar to the border with Serbia. The 'biggest project in Montenegrin history' was dismissed by Western financial institutions as unfeasible and almost abandoned due to lack of finance. Finally, the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM) offered generous financial resources while the Montenegrin government conceded strong state guarantees and gave the project to Chinese construction company CRBC. This article demystifies the political context of the project and Chinese involvement in Montenegro, offering a new academic contribution to geopolitics and Sino-Balkan studies. The paper also questions if Chinese loans offer something new to Montenegro and their potential conflict with the European Union, the most powerful stakeholder in the region. I use interviews with experts, official papers and leaked documents to analyse the background of the project.