How to Give China Face Yet Not Bow to Pressure: Albania’s Delicate Balancing Act with China

Albania and China were famously close in the Mao and Hoxha years, until an ideological split ruptured relations. Albania is geopolitically important, forming a land bridge between Europe and Asia. Though rich in natural resources, it is one of the most underdeveloped states in Europe. Albania is now a member of the 17+1 grouping, a China-centred strategic bloc located in Central and Eastern Europe. It has been touted as a potential link in European routes for China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. In 2016, China’s ambassador to Albania characterised Sino-Albanian relations as a “traditional friendship bearing new fruits”. Is Albania repeating its history and leaning to one side?