Hungarian MapInfluenCE analyst Tamás Matura commented for Politico on the often empty promises of investment that under-gird Sino-Hungarian relations and the 17+1 relationship more broadly.
“In 2012, China was seen as an economic savior for the region. Countries were expecting huge amounts of investment and a growth in trade. What we got instead was a very low amount of investment, and from the commercial perspective what has mostly grown is the trade imbalance in China’s favor…[The 17+1 initiative seems to be a failure from the Central and Eastern European side. The results are negligible and disappointing.”
Matura on Chinese investment in CEE
The full article is available on Politico here.
For more of Matura’s thoughts on the future of the 17+1 initiative, click here.
Image source: European People’s Party, Flickr.com
