“Montenegro is trapped in the “Belt and Road Debt Trap” of the Chinese Communist Party! Request for the EU to help repay 1 billion euros was rejected

Montenegro, a Balkan country that is expected to join the European Union, has fallen into the Chinese Communist Party’s “Belt and Road debt trap”, with a debt of 4.33 billion euros (about 145.677 billion Taiwan dollars), accounting for 103% of its gross domestic product. The International Monetary Fund has argued that the country can no longer afford any new debt. “Montenegro’s request for EU assistance to repay its debts was rejected. However, the EU pointed out that it could finance “Montenegro” through investment programs.

In 2014, “Montenegro” approved the construction of a new highway. This road is 165 kilometers long, connecting “Montenegro” Adriatic Sea and neighboring Serbia. “Montenegro” and China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. signed a contract for the first phase of construction, the Chinese side to undertake the first phase of the construction of 41 kilometers of road, “Montenegro” to provide a loan of 1 billion euros (about 33.88 billion Taiwan dollars). “Montenegro” began to repay the loan interest this year, but also met the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, the main source of income from tourism to bear the brunt of the drag on the repayment capacity, debt up to 4.33 billion euros.

“Montenegro” Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said last month that in order to prevent “quasi-EU member states” “Montenegro” to Beijing’s dependence. The EU should help Montenegro restructure its debt. The EU Executive Committee spokesman responded that all countries are free to make investment decisions, but the EU will not repay the debt for a third party, “Montenegro” must try to repay the Chinese Communist Party loans, but the EU can be funded through a total of 9 billion euros (about 304.877 billion Taiwan dollars) of the Western Balkans economic and investment program “Montenegro” to build the remaining sections of the road.

“Montenegro’s road construction plan has been controversial because of the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Europe. The EU Executive Committee said: “The EU is concerned about the possible socio-economic and financial effects of some of the Chinese investments, and fears the risk of macroeconomic imbalances and overdependence on Chinese loans”. Some German and U.S. scholars have found that the Chinese Communist Party has lent large amounts of money to developing countries to build infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative, using this channel to expand its influence over these countries and make them subordinate.