From 5G hardware to apps and data: How Huawei has adapted to survive
Huawei’s new approach is allowing the company to secure positions at the very core of the future data economy
Experts & Staff
Vladimir Shopov
Visiting Fellow
Areas of expertise
Central and south-east Europe in the EU, China in central, eastern, and south-east Europe, EU politics and EU conditionality
Languages
English, Bulgarian, basic German, basic Russian
Biography
Vladimir Shopov is a visiting fellow with the Asia Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
He was a full-time lecturer in politics at Sofia University (2004-2006) and an adjunct professor at Sofia University (1997-1998) and the New Bulgarian University (2012-2014). He has been an external lecturer on the European Union, NATO, security, and south-eastern European affairs at the Diplomatic Institute of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is currently teaching on Asian Affairs in the Politics Department of Sofia University as an adjunct professor. He has been a foreign affairs columnist at Forbes Bulgaria since 2011. He is a co-founder and columnist of Reduta.bg, a Bulgarian website for analytical journalism.
14 Apr
Представяне на доклад – Да разцъфтят хиляди контакти: Как Китай се съревновава за влияние в България
Гледай на Фейсбук Софийският офис на Европейския съвет за външна политика има удоволствието да Ви покани на представянето на новия доклад…
Mapping China’s rise in the Western Balkans
China is building up its influence in the Western Balkans through projects focused on everything from energy and infrastructure to culture, education, and media. If the European Union is to achieve its geopolitical goals in the region, it will need to understand the nature of competition with Beijing in all these areas
Southern discomfort: The West’s competition with China in the Balkans
The West has only recently started to develop a coordinated strategy to compete with China in the Balkans. This contest has now begun in earnest
Let a thousand contacts bloom: How China competes for influence in Bulgaria
China is expanding its presence in Bulgaria through a strategy of engagement with state and non-state actors. This has concerning implications in areas such as technology transfer, critical infrastructure, and public procurement
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
How much influence does China already have in the Western Balkans and how should European policymakers react?
The EU’s Montenegro dilemma
Following a recent dispute over a $1 billion loan to Montenegro, the EU has an opportunity to take a more systematic approach to the growing Chinese presence in the Western Balkans
2 Mar
China in Europe’s periphery. How China became a power in the Western Balkans
The virtual roundtable, “China in Europe’s periphery. How China became a power in the Western Balkans”, will bring a small group of experts, officials, NGO and media representatives together in a discussion on China’s embedding in the region
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
Beijing’s megaphone: The return of party propaganda in south-eastern Europe
Within less than a decade, China has significantly expanded its media presence in south-eastern Europe. The country is increasingly well-positioned to amplify its voice, disseminate imagery, and convey its narratives
Publications
Let a thousand contacts bloom: How China competes for influence in Bulgaria
China is expanding its presence in Bulgaria through a strategy of engagement with state and non-state actors. This has concerning implications in areas such as technology transfer, critical infrastructure, and public procurement
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
Articles
From 5G hardware to apps and data: How Huawei has adapted to survive
Huawei’s new approach is allowing the company to secure positions at the very core of the future data economy
Southern discomfort: The West’s competition with China in the Balkans
The West has only recently started to develop a coordinated strategy to compete with China in the Balkans. This contest has now begun in earnest
The EU’s Montenegro dilemma
Following a recent dispute over a $1 billion loan to Montenegro, the EU has an opportunity to take a more systematic approach to the growing Chinese presence in the Western Balkans
Beijing’s megaphone: The return of party propaganda in south-eastern Europe
Within less than a decade, China has significantly expanded its media presence in south-eastern Europe. The country is increasingly well-positioned to amplify its voice, disseminate imagery, and convey its narratives
China goes granular: Beijing’s multi-level approach to the Western Balkans
China’s granular engagement with the Western Balkans is inconspicuous, has the capacity to exploit differences between national policies, and can harness local entrepreneurship to develop ties with the country
The inevitable partner: Why Europe needs to re-engage with Africa
EU-Africa relations are characterised by a series of failed beginnings. They continue to suffer from a lack of deep and far-reaching political will, despite being the subject of a series of diplomatic initiatives in the past two decades
Five mounting challenges for China in the Western Balkans
China has not embedded itself in the Western Balkans as much as it might have done – and may even be looking back on the 2010s as a wasted decade
Specials
Mapping China’s rise in the Western Balkans
China is building up its influence in the Western Balkans through projects focused on everything from energy and infrastructure to culture, education, and media. If the European Union is to achieve its geopolitical goals in the region, it will need to understand the nature of competition with Beijing in all these areas
Podcasts
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
How much influence does China already have in the Western Balkans and how should European policymakers react?
Events
14 Apr
Представяне на доклад – Да разцъфтят хиляди контакти: Как Китай се съревновава за влияние в България
Гледай на Фейсбук Софийският офис на Европейския съвет за външна политика има удоволствието да Ви покани на представянето на новия доклад…
2 Mar
China in Europe’s periphery. How China became a power in the Western Balkans
The virtual roundtable, “China in Europe’s periphery. How China became a power in the Western Balkans”, will bring a small group of experts, officials, NGO and media representatives together in a discussion on China’s embedding in the region
In the media
Expectations that China will continue to dominate Asia economically and globally are less and less justified
Vladimir Shopov comments on China’s fading economic leadership
The risks for China from an unequivocal positioning of the country in the authoritarian bloc are substantial. Beijing risks a severe reputational collapse in Europe and beyond
Vladimir Shopov on the Russia-China relations
Vladimir Shopov talks to Le Monde about the AU-EU summit
Montenegro’s external debt was 91.6 per cent of its economic output in 2020, according to a recent study by ECFR
The Münchner Merkur refers to a commentary by Majda Ruge and Vladimir Shopov
Bulgaria is moving further and further away from the EU’s deep transformations debates
Vladimir Shopov with an analysis on Bulgaria’s positioning and participation in key European topics