The book’s main conclusions were presented by the four co-authors—Dr. Ivica Bakota, Dr. Zvonimir Stopić, and Dr. Anastas Vangeli and Dr. Dragan Pavlićević (who are also the editors of the publication)—moderated by Prof. Dr. Dejan Jović. In his introductory remarks, editor Anastas Vangeli presented the book’s synopsis, emphasizing that the work builds on the conceptual frameworks of “pericentricity”—a perspective that shifts the focus from “great power politics” toward peripheral actors and highlights their influence, perspectives, and historical relations—and “possibilism,” an approach to geopolitics and development that emphasizes openness, agility, and experimentation, to offer a new understanding of Sino-Yugoslav relations. He also highlighted the historical perspective, which departs from the history of Yugoslavia’s relations with global powers, including China, in order to more clearly understand the current relationship between China and post-Yugoslav states.
By examining the complex relations between the states from the 1930s onward and the legacies shaping current relations, the authors conclude that history does not have a clear break or “end,” but rather appears as a long shadow in new roles and efforts to address contemporary challenges.
Editor Dragan Pavlićević presented the period of the most intensive cooperation, during which China underwent modernization reform (1977–1980). In this period, Yugoslavia assumed a key role as a possible model and paradigm in matters of internal governance and foreign policy, leading China to thoroughly examine Yugoslav experiences, ideological premises, and public policies through more than a hundred organized exchanges.
Co-author Ivica Bakota explained how Yugoslav foreign policy was a subject of particular interest to China and helped it break its own “orthodox ice” and open up to the world, drawing on the example of the Yugoslav independent path. He pointed out that Yugoslavia’s position in the Non-Aligned Movement offered China a reformist socialist “model” in the sphere of foreign policy, and that even today China defines its foreign policy starting from the Yugoslav principle of “peaceful coexistence.”
In his presentation, co-author Zvonimir Stopić highlighted three key turning points in the development of Sino-Yugoslav relations: the Yugoslav-Soviet split in 1948, the announcement of the Yugoslav independent socialist path in 1958, and the position of “peaceful coexistence” in global politics in 1968. All three milestones initially met with harsh Chinese criticism, but over time Yugoslavia became an object of curiosity in China during its period of gradual distancing from Soviet influence.
Reflecting on contemporary relations, Vangeli explained that since the 2010s, China has maintained a strong presence in the Central and Eastern European region, including the post-Yugoslav states, through formats such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China-CEEC cooperation. Although it builds relations with post-Yugoslav states by invoking “historical friendship,” China operates on the understanding that these countries are, to a greater or lesser extent, integrated into Western institutions. Simultaneously, it defines them as peripheral, with a lower level of development compared to the “center” and capitalistically dependent on foreign investment. It offers them capital investments in infrastructure, the energy sector, and heavy industry (for example, in the Western Balkans), as well as opportunities for economic development without political conditionality (except regarding Taiwan). In addition, it invests in advanced technologies with a particular interest in knowledge and technology transfer (for instance, in Slovenia). China describes this type of relationship as “South-South cooperation with North-South characteristics.”
In the concluding segment, a discussion ensued with the audience, which gathered more than 40 participants—experts, interested citizens, diplomats, representatives of ten embassies, and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The audience showed great interest in questions concerning Croatia’s relations and perception toward China, the reactions in China to the dissolution of the SFRY, the influence of the Non-Aligned Movement, and regional inequalities. The co-authors emphasized the pragmatic approach Croatia takes toward China and the existing economic cooperation, and explained how the dissolution of Yugoslavia strongly impacted Chinese society—in some places even more strongly than the collapse of the Soviet Union—precisely because of the earlier intensive exchanges and the implementation of Yugoslav ideas, as well as tourism and cultural ties.
Finally, Žarko Primorac, a member of the Yugoslav delegation that visited China in 1983 and 1984, joined the conversation and reflected on the “astronomical” growth in the quality of life in China from his first visits to the present day. He highlighted the cultural and social differences between Yugoslavia and China and concluded with the opinion that today the United States has “lost the race” with China.
*The report was prepared as part of the student internship conducted by the Foreign Policy Forum at the Faculty of Political Science (FPZG), under the mentorship of Dean Šarčević, and was authored by student Alan Znika.