Polish Institute of International Affairs

As long as the Sino-CEE relationship was ruled by pragmatism, relations continued to develop during regular negotiations. Washington was sceptical and the EU was just an observer in the process, while some Western European diplomats expressed concern about a potential Chinese Trojan horse emerging in the region, but this has not materialised.

Officials from a number of countries have noted the need to build trust among the European Union, Russia and Turkey amid the conflict in Syria following a conference in Syria last week.