The rapid development of cooperation between China and western Balkan countries under the "the Belt and Road" initiative was introduced, including the number of infrastructure projects, investment scale and diversification of fields. Emphasis was placed on the positive evaluation of Chinese investment by Western Balkan countries, while pointing out the EU's concerns and accusations about China's influence in the region, viewing China as an economic competitor and systemic rival. Explored the EU's negative perception and reasons for China's cooperation with the Western Balkans, as well as the responses of Western Balkan countries.

1、 The ontological security issues in international politics and EU literature

Introduced the application of ontological security theory in international politics, especially how the EU maintains its ontological security through foreign policy. The ontological security theory was initially proposed by Ryan and later introduced into sociology by Giddens, emphasizing that individuals experience their true, alive, and complete existence over a continuous period of time. This theory is used in international politics to explain how states construct ontological security by normalizing their relationships with others. In EU research, ontological security theory is used to analyze the entity security, internal and external subject relationship security, and security collective identity of the EU. The EU attempts to establish stable inter subject relationships through institutionalized practices to maintain consistency and continuity in its internal self narrative. The intrinsic security status of the European Union affects the issues of Western Balkan accession, China Europe relations, and China Western Balkan Peninsula relations. Both intra group and inter group relations jointly affect the EU's self adaptability.

2、 The ontological security construction of the European Union

As an active player in the global political arena, the European Union has pursued physical security as its fundamental goal since its establishment. By establishing supranational institutions to address physical security issues, it has gradually established the "fields of freedom, security, and justice" and "common foreign and security policy", and established its role as a "security provider" and "security community". In 2003, the European Union released the European Security Strategy, linking borders and security, internal and external, as the core elements of ontological security. With the eastward expansion of the European Union, its political, cultural, and geographical boundaries have reached their realistic maximum. The EU has adjusted its self narrative of ontological security, stating that the "freedom, security, and justice" of the community are the core goals for achieving ontological security. However, since the financial crisis, debt crisis, refugee crisis, Brexit, and the rise of populist forces, the normalization, universalization, and multiplicity of European crises have shattered the EU's sense of security as a whole. In 2019, the European Union introduced a new border management action strategy, which pointed out that the regional security of "freedom, security, and justice" within the EU depends on peace outside the borders, indicating a certain turning point in the EU's confidence and sense of security.

3、 The EU's negative perception of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation between China and the Western Balkans

Discussed the EU's negative perception of the cooperation between China and the western Balkan countries under the "the Belt and Road" framework from the perspective of ontological security. The EU regards China's influence in the region as a threat and attempts to weaken its relationship with Western Balkan countries by strengthening negative public opinion and smearing cooperation projects, in order to maintain its influence in the region. The EU sees Chinese investment as a damage to the EU's social and economic governance efforts, believing that Chinese investment ignores sustainability, may lead to increased debt and transfer of resource control, and threaten the rule of law and human rights. The EU also accuses Chinese investment of being a "non competitive and opaque transaction" that bypasses public procurement processes and poses a threat to EU standards. At the economic level, the EU links Chinese investment to a 'debt trap', although data shows that Montenegro's public debt level has not significantly increased due to Chinese loans. Politically, the EU is concerned that China's influence may undermine the democratic process in Western Balkan countries and exacerbate authoritarianism. In terms of normative values, the EU believes that China's participation model runs counter to the efforts made by Western Balkan countries to join the EU, and expresses concerns about China's impact on environmental and energy projects. These negative perceptions and reactions of the European Union not only ignore the needs of Western Balkan countries for infrastructure investment and development cooperation, but also exacerbate the EU's own insecurity and anxiety about China's possible replacement of its position.

4、 Beyond 'ontological insecurity': China and Europe jointly promote the development of Western Balkan countries

They discussed the common goals and complementary roles of China and the EU in promoting the development of the western Balkans, and emphasized the importance of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation. China and Europe have shown potential for cooperation in areas such as connectivity, green development, digital transformation, and cultural exchange and cooperation. Specifically, the establishment of the China EU connectivity platform and the signing of the Transport Community Treaty have promoted the development of transport in the western Balkans. At the same time, the "the Belt and Road" project and the EU's pan European corridor construction plan complement each other. In terms of green development, the green initiative and high-level communication mechanism between China and Europe have promoted climate financing and emission reduction cooperation. China's support for the green economy of Western Balkan countries reflects its commitment to green development. In terms of digital transformation, the EU's digital agenda and China's "Digital Silk Road" have been reflected in cooperation projects in countries such as Serbia. In terms of cultural exchange and cooperation, the cooperation between China and Europe during the pandemic and President Xi Jinping's global security initiative demonstrate the consensus of both sides on security strategies. Finally, the chapter emphasizes that China and the EU should seize the opportunity of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results and promote China EU cooperation and the development of the western Balkans.