Greece Becomes New Member of "16 + 1" Initiative

DUBROVNIK, Croatia - With China wanting to pick up investments in Greece - despite a major project to renovate the port of Piraeus a Chinese company controls being blocked - the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA is ready to join a China-backed coalition of Central and Eastern European nations.

That could further China’s influence in Greece and parts of the European Union and cause worry among the bloc’s leaders although Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has also tied himself to the United States after being anti-American.

Tsipras has clearly expressed his intention to join the 16+1 group of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations, a diplomatic source that wasn’t named told The Financial Times.

In a letter to North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, whose country was renamed after a deal with Greece, Tsipras said he wanted to enhance Greece’s role in the region and that a formal announcement was due April 12 at the 16+1 summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

That will be attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang whose government, looking to use Piraeus as a new Silk Road inlet to the EU, set up the idea to boot Chinese trade.

On the agenda at the meeting is the idea for a China-funded, multi-billion dollar Athens-Budapest rail line with Greece’s wretched rail system, taken over by an Italian company as part of a privatization drive, not connected to the rest of the EU.

The project, which is also designed to connect the Serbian and North Macedonian capitals of Belgrade and Skopje, has been stymied so far by EU worries it could breach rules of competition and whether Hungary has complied with them. Feng Zhongping, the head of European studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, told the paper that said it made sense for Greece to join the 16+1 grouping.

“Greece has similar needs and demands in terms of cooperation with China as Central and Eastern European countries,” he said.

After fears among EU officials China was trying to unduly gain more influence, Feng said Beijing was now working hard to build trust in Brussels, seat of administrative offices for the bloc.

“China is trying to stabilize its relationship with Europe, making efforts to build trust and address concerns,” he said. “Both the recent visit to Europe by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Li’s trip are evidence that the EU’s concerns are being taken care of.”