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Recently, it has been seen a cooling of Albania’s relations with China. This has been felt for a long time, but in recent days, when the country needs this relationship more than ever, it has been felt even more.
The signal of the cooling of relations between the two countries would come two weeks ago, when Albania asked China for help in facing the coronavirus pandemic. The Deputy Minister of Health, Mira Rakacolli stated that she had made an official communication with the Embassy of the Republic of China in Tirana expressing the request for help.
On April 1, as in all Balkan countries, China donated 1,000 Covid-19 test kits to Albania. But differently from the Western Balkans, the aid would end up to that for this country.
Beijing has continued to distribute 30 ventilators in northern Macedonia, has sent medical aid and 3,000 test kits to Montenegro, and has sent doctors and equipment to Serbia and Bosnia. But so far, no other aid has been brought to Albania.
Where have Albanians gone wrong in relation to China?
The origin of this cooling was immediately felt after the support of Albanian government to the West’s resolution on the rights of Hong Kong protesters. This resolution appears to have had a major impact on the bilateral relations. Since that resolution, most of the bilateral agreements have been pending.
Afterwards relations with China suffered another severe blow after the Albanian government complied with the US advice not to introduce 5G technology from the Chinese company Huawei to the country. The United States has also reportedly urged Albania to stay away from China, describing the latter as the biggest threat and enemy to NATO countries. The Embassy of the United States of America in Tirana has praised Albania again for not buying the 5G network from China, stating that the country won a “battle” in the fight for security.
But in this battle, it seems that Albania has lost its partnership with China. This partnership could have played a key role in the fight against coronavirus. Like Serbia, even Albania needs urgently masks and medical equipment. According to the Ministry of Health, Albania has only 140 ventilators in its medical stock.
The European Union has predicted that the coronavirus could affect about 70% of Europe’s population, an unaffordable scenario not only for Albania but also for many EU member states. For Albania, where the number of masks and ventilators is limited, foreign donations are vital. But so far, at least publicly, China does not seem ready to “reach out.”
From time to time Albania has made mistakes in its relations with great powers. Engaged in the zeal to be loyal to a great state, Albanians blow up relationships with other friends. Albania is a very small country to establish a balance between ‘giants’. Therefore it should always be guided by its interests. It is enough to look at the strategy of Serbia, which has Russia and China as important allies, but has never given up the cooperation with the US and the EU./h.e/argumentum.al
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