Albania external relations briefing: Trump urges Albania to exit the “17+1”

Weekly Briefing, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Al), October 2020

 

Trump urges Albania to exit the “17+1”

 

 

On October 2nd, 2020, the Prime Minister (PM) of Albania, Edi Rama, received a letter from the President of the United States (US), Donald Trump. It was not difficult to understand the clear note sent by the White House and there was no necessity of reading between the lines, the message was loud and clear and by all considerations, the final target of it was People’s Republic of China (PRC). The letter started by commending Rama’s leadership role for the Balkan region and throughout Europe in exposing China’s malign influence. The letter continued: “Your outspoken support for secure telecommunications networks is setting a strong example…that paves the way for others in the Balkans to do the same. I am also pleased by Albania’s strong role in the Three Seas Initiative — as a fair alternative to China’s 17+1 format, which I urge you to exit.”

 

Albania and the “17+1” (China-CEE cooperation)

Albania is one of the founding members of the former “16+1”/currently “17+1” and throughout the eight years of it existence, Albania’s role in it has been quite marginal. What the public opinion in Albania associate this platform mainly with, are the High-Level Summits of the China-CEE and PM Rama’s meetings with Premier Li Keqiang. Little is known in the country about the platform and many have argued that there is plenty of untapped potential in this mechanism, especially from the Albanian side. The initial enthusiasm of the Albanian PM on the platform and his several signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) has been slowly transformed into a more subtle and noninvolvement role, especially in the past 3-4 years. However, there has been milestones set and results achieved under the umbrella of the “17+1” such as intergovernmental (culture/trade/investment-oriented) dialogues which open a window of communication at the policy-making level,  which set the legal basis for mutual exchange in the present and the future. An example from Albania achieved under memorandums signed in the “17+1” platform is the visa waiver for Chinese passport holders in Albania, it was initially for six months and after updated on all year round bases. This experience demonstrated that Chinese tourist number visiting the country increased by 48% from 2018 to 2019. With the commitment of the creation of the Secretariat for Youth and the last year’s China-CEEC Capital Mayors meeting the “17+1” has been brought to the spotlight even more.

 

When the American “Bull” Breaks into the China shop of “16+1 Cooperation”  – This was the title of a paper released in mid-2019 by the China-CEE Institute authored by Feng Zhongping, Chen Xin, and Xu Gang.[i] The authors argue that the US is “back” to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and with the theme of competition between great powers returning to a geopolitical center, China has become a “major player” in CEE. In 2018, Wess Mitchell, an Assistant Secretary from the U.S. Department of State, declared that the US would intensify its efforts in Central and Eastern Europe in 2019. He further argued that part of the reason why “their (US) rivals are gaining ground in Central and Eastern Europe is that for too long the West did not take competition seriously there” and in Europe. And so it happened, in 2019 the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Hungary, Slovakia and Poland and in 2020 again in Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Poland. As he urged Eastern European countries to reject Huawei, he also made sure to warn that China is in ‘some ways worse’ than their former Soviet Union rulers [ii] – emphasizing so another trait of the Cold War mentality. Chen Xin (2019, p. 3) argues that the US puts its emphasis on CEE to curb Huawei, because small and medium-sized countries in CEE are much easier to “deal with” than developed Western European countries. And this quotation has proved to be extremely accurate, apparently for the Trump administration, Albania is easier to “deal with” and especially to start handling a previously not expressed idea, the one of direct opposition to the  “17+1”.

Why is Albania easier to deal with? – It is common knowledge that in Albania there exist a particular kind of pro-Americanism. The roots of this behavior are historic as well as recent (from the role of Woodrow Wilson in 1920 in supporting Albania as a state, to the American support for Kosovo in 1999) and all Albanian political forces of the present regard the US as the highest strategic partner of the country. From NATO membership to EU accession talks, the US are an intrinsic part of every decision-making process of Albania. In many cases, the conditionality of either/or is acknowledge of public domain. From conditiationality to explicit warnings, the US presence in Albania is felt, heard and seen. Thus, receiving a specific letter from a US President, targeting the “17+1” made it the topic of the day.

 

Reinforcing the message: targeting China, again.

The US Under-Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach, visited Albania the day after the letter was sent to Rama. If the message from Trump was not clear enough, the narrative of Mr. Krach was ever more pungent. While his official visit to Tirana was with the aim of financing one of the major Albanian hydropower plant (Skavica), the headlines in the press were mainly on the revamping Albania and the US economic cooperation, yet, there was no single declaration of the US Under-Secretary that did not target China, or even further the CCP. The discourse consisted in words such as “urgent threat to democracies”, “intensified its aggression”, “China challenge” “deception strategy” and so on.[iii]

Immediately after this statement the Chinese Embassy in Albania, reacted by clarifying: “We noted that Keith Krach, the Undersecretary of State of the United States of America, has made malicious and baseless attacks and slanders against the Communist Party of China, the Chinese Government and Chinese companies, deliberately provoking China-Albania relations, during his visit in Albania. To those words, we express strong opposition. China’s contribution to world peace and development is visible and seeable to all. China adheres to the principle of mutual respect, mutual interests and mutual benefits in relations with different countries of the world, and never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries. Relations between China and Albania are also based on these principles, and stem from the long-standing friendship between our two peoples that is worth being proud of.” [iv]

For the first time in eight years, the “17+1” mechanism was present in every major media outlet in Albania, for at least two news cycles.  About the platform per se, what it represents and which are the achievements, all was very basic and remained at an informational level.

 

A word that doesn’t fit

If there is a country in Europe that better has experienced first-hand what PRC is capable of accomplishing in a distant/foreign land, it is Albania. From the millions in aid during the 1960-70s which kept the country’s economy alive, to the invaluable support of building from scratch and upgrading industrial sites; to the friendly diplomatic support in these three decades of transition, to trade flourishing between the two countries, to the latest aids that were given without being trumpeted during the pandemic by the Chinese Embassy in Albania as a sign of solidarity from the Chinese people – there is nothing “malign” about China in Albania and by any consideration be this historical, political, economic or otherwise the word doesn’t fit.

Time has demonstrated that no matter what typology or inclination the government has in Albania, China has been and remains a friendly country and has been close to the Albanians both in times of peace and in times of crisis. If currently in the international arena there is a dire need to create or find imaginary enemies, they could be found everywhere except in China’s presence in Albania.

As the word per se does not fit the discourse, also the “Anti-China” rhetoric does not fit into the Albania reality.  The approach of PRC to the country has been nothing less but a hand a of support and endorsement into Albania’s European and developmental aspirations. Last but not least, it should be noted that Albanians collective memory has enshrined China as a helping partner in times of need, independently of what the ruling force of the moment might impose as narrative.

 

Instead of conclusions

In this big game of great power politics Albania cannot afford to take sides, especially since a detachment from the “17+1” platform would be consequential in the long run. Every extended channel of communication, every intensified round of bilateral/multilateral talks, every articulation of policy agendas and expectations, brings more awareness to each-others realities and more opportunities for deepening win-win cooperation – and the “17+1” offers that, and much more.

 

[i] Feng, Chen & Xu, 2019. When the American “Bull” Breaks into the china shop of “16+1 Cooperation”. Working Paper No. 2. China-CEE Institute. Available at: https://china-cee.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Working_paper-201902-Feng-Zhongping-Chen-Xin-Xu-Gang.pdf

[ii] Business Insider, 2020. Mike Pompeo urges eastern European countries to reject Huawei, warning that China is in ‘some ways worse’ than their former Soviet Union rulers. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/pompeo-tells-eastern-european-countries-reject-huawei-china-some-ways-worse-than-soviets-2020-8

[iii] Remarks by Under Secretary of State for Energy, Economic Growth, and Environment Keith Krach, at the Office of the Prime Minister of Albania. Available at: https://al.usembassy.gov/remarks-by-under-secretary-of-state-for-energy-economic-growth-and-environment-keith-krach-at-the-office-of-the-prime-minister-of-albania/

[iv] Statement by the Spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Albania on the speech on China by the US Undersecretary of State, Keith Krach. Available at: http://al.china-embassy.org/eng/zagx/zajw/t1821876.htm