Chinese president Xi Jinping’s second trip to eastern Europe in four months is raising expectations of an investment surge, as Beijing seeks to increase geopolitical influence and trade access amid western concerns of a potentially divisive influence on the continent.
Mr Xi travels to Serbia and Poland this weekend, following a trip to the Czech Republic in March. At each stop he is expected to dangle the promise of Chinese capital and increased traffic via China’s One Belt, One Road policy, despite a patchy record on delivering previous pledges.
The five-day trip, which begins in Belgrade on Friday, builds on China’s controversial “16 + 1” strategy, first articulated four years ago, which provides a platform for the Asian giant to deal directly with central and eastern European states and circumvent Brussels.