Battling to stay in the competition for building Estonia's 5G network, the tech giant Huawei has hired a lobby firm with three ex-ministers on board in an attempt to use their political influence and push back the decision to exclude the Chinese company due to security concerns.
China's investments in the Baltic countries are so far insignificant, but the Chinese have their eyes on large strategic infrastructure projects, developments that are simultaneously tempting and worrying to the Baltics.
Squeezed between geopolitics and wary of Chinese espionage threats, the Baltic countries look to Brussels for guidance on what to do with Huawei and their 5G networks
The rise of Chinese influence in the world - and its consequences - has been one of the main topics in international relations in recent years. The US trade war, Europe's attempt to create a common policy against China's attempts to establish special relations with groups within the EU, China's massive investment program for building infrastructure to create new trade routes - it all applies to us, too.
The objectives of China's soft power in the Baltic states are to prevent the rise of uncomfortable foreign policy issues like autonomy for Tibet and to disseminate Beijing's worldview through Confucius Institutes.