Commentary
Economic Security
Beijing Tries to Keep Friends in CEE
26 May 2026
Before Russia’s attack on Ukraine, relations with Kyiv were practically on the periphery of political and public attention in Central European countries – even the occupation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas made little difference.
I still remember well how Ukrainian, or rather post-Soviet, topics began to disappear from television programmes and press publications in Central Europe.
Colleagues in Warsaw, Bratislava or Prague explained to me that this had a pattern. The most important things for their countries were European integration, NATO membership, relations with Germany and the United States as well as their own integration projects. Even a joint event with a Ukrainian representative under the Visegrad Four format could be met with opposition.
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