Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has proposed that Croatia include civil nuclear power among the new areas of bilateral cooperation. The offer came on October 16 in Zagreb, during talks with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman, as part of a two-day visit that ended on Saturday.
According to Xinhua, Wang named infrastructure and renewable energy as key sectors, to be joined by nuclear, ports, telecommunications and artificial intelligence. This is the first of the “three engines” with which Beijing wants to drive relations with Zagreb. The other two concern the regional level and the relationship with the European Union.
The mission carries political weight. According to CGTN, it is the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Croatia in 33 years and comes ahead of the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027. Wang also met President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. Beijing said it is ready to consider upgrading the comprehensive cooperative partnership.
Grlić Radman responded by focusing on Croatian exports to China and welcomed the new Beijing-Bucharest-Zagreb air link. No nuclear agreement was signed. For now, the proposal remains an indication of direction.
Croatia’s energy context helps explain the interest. Chinese companies have already built the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia and, at Korlat near Benkovac, the country’s largest solar plant: 99 megawatts, about 165 gigawatt-hours a year, enough for 50,000 households. The project is connected to the nearby wind farm in operation since 2021 and serves as a showcase for Chinese technology on EU territory.
Nuclear enters a country that has already opened another channel. In April, in Dubrovnik, Croatia and the United States issued a joint statement on civil nuclear cooperation. Zagreb thus has two interlocutors presenting themselves as partners, with different technologies and financing models.
Croatia already takes part in the operation of the Krško plant in Slovenia, of which it owns half. If the Zagreb talks turn into a technical working group, the first concrete topics could be the training of engineers and the assessment of new capacity. The date to watch is 2027, the year Beijing and Zagreb will celebrate 35 years of diplomatic relations.
