Anytime Beijing ventures into intra-European relations trepidation ensues. Today’s “16+1” meeting between Beijing and a group of Central and East European states will be watched with particular interest. The goal is to discuss Beijing’s investments in the region. But the event coincides with rise of populism in Central Europe, which, in turn, has spawned tensions between the EU’s newer and more established states. China has been blamed for exploiting these divisions, and for trying to break EU consensus on subjects that matter to Beijing. But on closer inspection, the rising power’s influence is less than it appears.
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