www.business-review.eu Business Review | August 2020
26 MACROECONOMY
Romania caught in the middle of the US-China cold war In June, a new effect of the US-China trade war was felt in Romania when the agreement to build two additional units at the Cernavoda nuclear plant with a Chinese partner was cancelled by state-owned company Nuclearelectrica, due to pressures made by its main shareholder – the Economy Ministry. But this is just one chapter of a larger story. By Sorin Melenciuc still considered plausible by some analysts in the case of the Washington-Beijing cold war, but the risk is somehow mitigated by the existence of a large group of regional powers that dislike the idea of being forced to choose one side over the other. However, many analysts underline the risk that many aspects of globalisation could be stopped and that the global system may be broken into two parts. In such a scenario, global growth could slow down and small powers and developing countries would have to side with one of the two camps. Contrary to the old cold war, the new rivalry is also associated with a high level of economic inter-dependency between the US and China. This makes things complicated both for the two rivals as well as for their strategic allies. In the last two decades, Romania emerged as a strategic ally of the US in Europe. The new rivalry is also associated with a high level of economic inter-dependency between the US and China
T
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT The US-Romania strategic partnership, which was mainly based on military aspects during
wo other sectors are also involved in
between China and the US is at its lowest
the last decades, seemed to be boosted last
this war and influenced by the US-
point since diplomatic ties were first estab-
year when Romanian president Klaus Iohan-
Romanian strategic partnership and
lished in 1979,” says Wang Huiyao, president
nis had a meeting at the White House with US
the US-China long-term geopolitical rivalry:
of the Center for China and Globalization, a
president Donald Trump. The discussion was
5G networks, with Huawei almost excluded
non-government think tank in Beijing, cited
focused around ways to advance and expand
from the planned tender in Romania, and
by Financial Times. In fact, this new era of
the strategic partnership. At the end of the
infrastructure, with Chinese firms losing one
geopolitical rivalry differ in important ways
meeting, Klaus Iohannis and Donald Trump
contract after another.
from the US-Soviet Union tensions between
made a joint statement.
1947 and 1991.
A NEW TYPE OF COLD WAR
The US-USSR conflict was not economic,
More importantly, during the visit, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the two
Most analysts think that the US and China are
but ideological in nature, and direct military
governments regarding 5G technology, “tak-
heading into a new type of cold war that could
conflict between the two main nuclear pow-
ing into account the importance of securing
be more challenging for the world compared
ers was avoided through proxy wars. The
the fifth generation wireless communication
to the geopolitical contest that started be-
war was divided into two major camps which
networks in order to ensure prosperity, as
tween the United States and the Soviet Union
included the allies of the two major geopoliti-
well as national security,” according to a press
at the end of World War II. “The level of trust
cal players. This kind of two-sided game is
release by the Romanian presidency.
