17/12/2020 · Published in The Corporate Silk Road

How the BRI and the availability of Chinese finance weakens the rule of law in the Western Balkans

In its Vision and Actions on the Belt and Road Initiative announced in 2015, China has made it clear that for investment in infrastructure “efforts should be made to promote green and low-carbon infrastructure construction and operation management, taking into full account the impact of climate change on the construction”. At the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019, Wang Yi, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, reiterated China’s commitment to combating climate change.
By Bankwatch Romania and Re:Common

However, China cannot keep its promises to the global community if it continues to finance coal projects globally. Not only does China’s support for coal plants in the Western Balkans contradict global climate imperatives, but as the Tuzla 7 case illustrates below, individual plants are in conflict with EU legislation on procurement, State aid and environment as well. This contravenes China’s commitment to, and support for the UN’s 2018 recommendation to China that all infrastructure projects outside its territory should be in line with applicable national and international law.

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