All change in China? Somewhat

Central Europe is very much part of China’s ambition to “move to the centre of the world stage” – the expression used by Xi during last year’s Communist party congress. The basic tool China relies on is the Belt and Road initiative, a trade and infrastructure project spanning Asia and Europe which encapsulates the regime’s overarching foreign policy goals, in what Xi has dubbed the “new era”. The Belt and Road initiative is often misunderstood in Europe, not least because it keeps changing its name from one confusing moniker to another. Originally called the New Silk Road in 2013, it soon changed its name to One Belt, One Road, only to be rebranded as Belt and Road, apparently because the word “one” sounded unduly hegemonistic. While layers of propaganda often make it impenetrable to outside observers, its impact is very real – and growing. The project has been showcased with pompous rhetoric and music videos, and more than 60 countries have agreed to join. Some of the metaphors Chinese media have attached to the Belt and Road project are revealing. They often call it “globalisation 2.0”, or the “New World Order”. 

Deals are negotiated at state-to-state diplomatic summits. Open tenders are shunned. Contracts are awarded by political fiat. Ostensibly commercial companies put former politicians on their payrolls by the dozen. As it turns out, CEFC’s main investments in the Czech Republic weren’t economic, they were about buying up the loyalty of Czech officials… age-old crony capitalism.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/18/chinese-europe-czech-republic-crony-capitalism