China and the Western Balkans: Economic Cooperation in a Global Geoeconomic Framework

China’s economic engagement with the Western Balkans has deepened markedly under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), delivering significant opportunities alongside strategic considerations. This paper analyzes China–Western Balkans trade and investment cooperation through an International Political Economy lens, employing concepts of globalization, geoeconomics, and core–periphery structures. Expanding beyond the bilateral case of China–North Macedonia to the entire Western Balkan region (Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina), we examine major infrastructure projects, industrial investments, and trade patterns. A comprehensive literature review of BRI and China–Central Eastern Europe cooperation studies highlights prevailing theoretical paradigms and gaps. Our analysis finds that Chinese state-backed enterprises have become key investors in the region’s steel, mining, energy, and transport sectors, addressing development needs unmet by other actors. Western Balkan countries have obtained much-needed infrastructure and capital through this cooperation, while some projects’ financing has raised concerns about debt and long-term dependency; we note these challenges are being managed as governance mechanisms improve. We argue that China’s outreach, though framed as win-win and driven by economic globalization forces, also embodies a geoeconomic dimension wherein economic tools advance broader strategic objectives. The region’s position as Europe’s periphery is evolving as it becomes more integrated into new Eurasian connectivity networks via the BRI, bringing both opportunities and implications for EU integration and regional geopolitics. We conclude with an assessment of future prospects for this cooperation amid changing global and regional dynamics.