NATO in deep water because of Chinese port investments
Port terminals in European cities such as Gdynia, Rotterdam and Antwerpen-Zeebrugge are crucial logistic hubs for the arrival of US Armed Forces and equipment for the protection of NATO’s flank in Eastern Europe.
Russian and Chinese vaccine diplomacy at work
Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are once again showing disregard for European solidarity, negotiating deals for Eastern vaccines, even at the price of sparking government crises.
Lockdown: the disappearing face mask
Closed borders and citizens who face tightened supervision over their daily lives. Fast-paced, wide-sweeping and often chaotic actions of governments, which are usually scrutinised by journalists and public opinion but which now, during the COVID-19 epidemic, have become a state secret.
Hungary in the midst of a U.S. – Huawei war
This article was originally published by Direkt36 on November 1st, 2019. Viktor Orban’s government has found itself in the middle of a great power conflict in 2019. Last year, a new battleground emerged in the trade war between the United States and China. Washington accused Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei of espionage on behalf of the […]
Exit the Dragon
Early in the morning on January 8th, agents of the Polish Internal Security Agency entered the homes of Piotr D. and Wejing W. The former, who used to work in special services, was a manager at Orange, a telecommunications company. The latter was the head of sales at Poland’s Huawei’s office. They were charged with […]
Vulnerabilities of a Chinese Tech Giant
Huawei is at the center of heated political debate around the world. There is a general assumption among experts on China, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) experts and politicians that the company uses its ICT devices to spy on its users and provide this data to Chinese government. Though there have been separate cases of Huawei breaches […]
Belt, road, and humbug. China’s investments in Poland
Until recently, Poland was the biggest recipient of Chinese investment of the Visegrad Group countries and the eighth biggest in the European Union. It is a thing of the past, though. And the future does not look so rosy anymore. How does China engage in Poland? This question has no simple answer. Polish politicians like […]
Silk route and realities
Polish politicians have a mouth full of clichés about the entry of big Chinese businesses into the country. The only person looking after their interests today is Marek Suski, the head of the Prime Minister’s political cabinet. He is doing it unofficially. And he has no idea about China or business.
The ghost train
All Hungarian governments have adhered to policy towards China. However, China may not be willing to help as evidenced by planned infrastructure projects falling through and promised loans never materializing. What are the reasons behind China’s reluctance to invest in Hungary?
Anita Komuves
Facts and propaganda: China goes to Visegrad
