The combination of Chinese engineering muscle and European finance is also a beneficial development for host countries. For Brussels, the gains are less clear.

Central Asia’s largest wind power project, with one Gigawatt capacity, quietly came online earlier this year.

Built by state-owned China Energy Engineering Group (CEEC), bankrolled with European debt, and packaged by Saudi developer ACWA Power, the Bash-Dzhankeldy project represents a new model for international cooperation under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its international mega-development project, but it also raises awkward questions for Brussels about who gets credit when the EU foots the bill.

CEEC has explicitly framed this project as a BRI flagship that marries Saudi Vision 2030 with China’s infrastructure-building ambitions, promoting the wind farms in a state-media livestream.

This framing of the wind farm as a BRI project sits uneasily alongside the narrative of competition with China pushed by Brussels.

…

According to Francesca Ghiretti, director of the China Initiative at RAND Europe, “the biggest issue in cases like these is that EU funds are not contributing to EU reputation abroad — that was one of the key issues Global Gateway was meant to tackle.”

The Bash-Dzhankeldy project is backed by two syndicated loans arranged by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), each comprising a USD 150 million loan on the EBRD’s own account, plus B-loans syndicated to other lenders, including French and German state funds.

While EU institutions hold a 54 percent stake and treat the EBRD as a “Team Europe” actor, it remains independent, with shareholders including China (0.09 percent).

…

The EBRD appears to be taking steps to reform public procurement, with a “Review of Procurement Policy and Rules” listed by the bank as a key policy for review in 2025. “The EBRD is only in control of public sector procurement and private sector clients are free to select suppliers or contractors they prefer,” the EBRD said in a statement.

However, while this distinction holds, it also highlights the limits of Brussels’ influence. Although the EBRD operates independently, it is often presented as part of the EU’s Global Gateway offer. The result is that EU-funded projects can, quite legitimately, be delivered by Chinese firms.

…