There is a saying that when a house next to yours is burning, you should start preparing for the fire that will come to you .

In March 2018, Italy signed an agreement with the flagship of President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy, known as the Belt and Road Initiative.  The decision of the Italian Prime Minister was a great success for Chinese efforts to penetrate Western democracies, especially in the EU. However, despite Italy’s initial optimism, things did not go as expected, and Italy withdrew from the BRI in January 2024, three months before the scheduled end of the agreement in March 2024.[1]

But what about Greece, which is a crossroad country of the Chinese dream on the Silk Road? Greece, which was the first European country to officially join China’s Belt and Road Initiative in August 2018. Two very significant BRI investments in Greece are the acquisition of 67% of Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) by COSCO Pacific Limited in 2016 with a total expenditure (shares and upgrade investments) of approximately 1.5 billion euros and the acquisition of 24% of ADMIE. (Independent Power Transmission Operator) from State Grid Europe Limited in 2017 for 320 million euros.[2]

It is a thought that needs to be put on the table: what benefits does Greece derive from the BRI, and should it withdraw from this union that cannot escape the rule of the stronger imposing its power on the weaker by following Italy’s example?

Let’s first of all take a closer look to how the BRI started.The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping and has since become one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world. It was first introduced in Kazakhstan with the land-based Silk Economic Zone and in Indonesia with the maritime Silk Road. Over the years, China has expanded its infrastructure development strategy, and since the July of 2023, official announcements from China state that 149 countries have joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with Africa being the continent with the most participants, 44 countries. [3] However, while the initial purpose of the BRI was to enhance economic development and increase regional connectivity, many scholars believe that the BRI is the umbrella under which China’s multidimensional geostrategic policy takes place.

But what is happening to other states besides Greece or Italy   that are nations members of the BRI?To make   things more clear BRI includes nations that are already struggling to fight corruption in the public sector and develop resilient democratic institutions but China’s policy has just made things worse as the chinese debt financing has led to the obstruction of democracy in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries and has bolstered authoritarian governments. The Democracy Index 2023, which measures the level of democracy in a country based on the electoral process and pluralism, reports that over 40% of the 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and significant parts of the Middle East and North Africa observed a decline in their scores in democracy serving levels.

For example Pakistan, which has actively developed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with Beijing, has also experienced the greatest regression in Asia, downgrading itself from a “hybrid regime” to an “authoritarian regime.” [4]Let’s also take a look at other countries that were called upon to give flesh and bones to the Chinese dream. In 2018, Djibouti, Montenegro, Pakistan, and several other countries were at risk of bankruptcy due to the commitments of the Belt and Road Initiative. Other significant examples of China’s investment moves that jeopardized the economy of the host countries include the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and a highway constructed by China in Montenegro.[5]These interventions essentially allow Beijing to exploit and impose economic and political concessions because the economically indebted are always at the mercy of the one to whom they are indebted.

It seems that while the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) achieves its goal of expanding economic influence and access to Chinese markets, its broader impact raises significant concerns about the future of governance, democracy, and human rights in the participating countries. As more countries adopt Chinese practices of surveillance, censorship, and authoritarian control, the global community must address the long-term impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on political freedoms and international human rights standards.

Essentially, through the BRI, China seeks to overcome internal adversities by drawing on external sources of growth to offset suboptimal domestic demand. China wants to take on a leadership role on a global level, and its dominance in the BRI is the stepping stone. [6] This started with President Xi’s speech to the global elite in Davos on the eve of Trump’s inauguration regarding the importance of maintaining free trade, and has expanded into China’s efforts to position itself as the true leader of global environmental efforts.

One thought that crosses my mind is what common ground there might be between China’s imposition on the BRICS countries in contrast to Russia and the countries of the communist regime. The national identities of both countries are deeply shaped by their Marxist-Leninist heritage. The leaders of both countries see the West as a dominant, interventionist, and existential threat to their regimes and nations.

The political and organizational culture of the two countries has been deeply shaped by their common socialist heritage. China continues to be governed by an introspective leninist party that prevails at all social institutional levels. Under Putin, Russia’s political institutions resemble their Soviet predecessors. In both countries, the Soviet organizational culture penetrates deeper than the upper echelons of power and influences most social institutions. Both countries share a common Leninist strategic culture based on informal networks and secrecy. (Krickovic  2017) and we should be really critical when it comes to communism.

[1] https://www.csis.org/analysis/italy-withdraws-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative

[2] https://www.naftemporiki.gr/finance/world/1404864/i-protovoylia-belt-and-road-stin-ellada-kai-i-ependysi-sto-limani-toy-peiraia/

[3] Number of countries that have joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as of July 2023, by continent”, Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347393/china-number-of-bri-partner-countries-by-region/#:~:text=As%20of%20April%202023%2C%20according,more%20than%20in%20January%2020-2021

[4] “EUI’S 2023 Democracy Index: conflict and polarisation drive a new low for global democracy”, The Economist Group, 15 February 2024. https://www.economistgroup.com/press-centre/economist-intelligence/eius-2023-democracy-index-conflict-and-polarisation-drive-a-new-low-for

[5] Popovich, Zachary & Jones, Karla, “China’s Belt and Road Initiative undermines partner countries’ democratic governance”, American Legislative Exchange Council, 15 September 2020. https://alec.org/article/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-undermines-partner-countries-democratic-governance/

[6]   https://theasanforum.org/the-trajectory-of-chinese-foreign-policy-from-reactive-assertiveness-to-opportunistic-activism/