Hebei Iron & Steel's 46 million-euro ($52 million) purchase of the Steelworks Smederevo last year is part of China's broader effort to project influence and gain an access point to the European market as other traditional powers, particularly the U.S. under President Donald Trump, retreat from the world stage. The most high-profile effort in this direction is the ambitious $900 billion Belt and Road project, often referred to as the New Silk Road — a transport and trade corridor running from China to Germany, via Greek ports, the Balkans and Central Europe. China's production glut has led to a flood of low-priced exports, which has depressed global markets and cost jobs in the U.S. and Europe, raising political tensions. Chinese companies are also starting to make inroads into Eastern European construction and engineering markets, including plans to build a $2 billion high-speed rail line from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to Budapest in neighboring Hungary. [...] while the EU remains the Western Balkans' largest trading partner, local governments have sometimes looked with favor to countries like China that are willing to invest large amounts without raising concerns about the region's patchy record on human rights or media freedoms. "Serbia has an important role in China's global Belt and Road project and we want to capitalize on all its potential," Serbian Construction Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said.
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