Visegrad Four group can bolster China-Europe ties

Potential stabilizing force

For Horvath, geography and investment flows give the V4 an unusual position in Europe.

"In our region, we have a lot of Western European investment, but we also have a lot of Chinese and other Asian investment," Horvath said. "If the four countries can cooperate, they can be a bridge and connection between East and West."

Horvath also pointed to differences in historical experience between Central and Western Europe. Unlike several major Western European powers, the V4 countries did not build overseas colonial empires, which he believes has contributed to a different outlook toward China and other Asian countries.

He argued that this historical background could make it easier for Central European countries to approach cooperation with China on the basis of mutual respect, although changes of government mean policies toward China can sometimes fluctuate substantially in individual V4 countries.

Jian Junbo, professor and director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University, said the V4 already occupies an important position in China's economic relations with Central and Eastern Europe, both in trade and investment.

More importantly, he said, the grouping gives its members a regional platform through which they can retain a degree of policy autonomy within the broader European debate.

Such room for independent policymaking could be particularly valuable when China-EU relations encounter difficulties, Jian said.

"When China’s relations with the EU, particularly with some Western European countries, face major challenges, the V4 can, to a certain extent, play a role in stabilizing the overall China-Europe relationship," he said.

Bekmatov said cooperation should ultimately be judged by whether it produces tangible benefits for ordinary people, including jobs, economic opportunities and improved living standards.

That principle, he suggested, is also part of the reason the V4 itself has survived despite historical disputes and contemporary political differences among its members, which can be applied to international relationship if possible.

"We understand that we can live better by cooperating than by acting against each other," he said.