"From Mines To Solar Plants, Chinese Projects Face Rare Legal Setbacks In The Balkans", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 23 November 2025

When a 25-year-old Chinese construction worker died at a vast solar power plant site in Bosnia-Herzegovina this summer, few expected the incident to snowball into one of the most significant legal blows against Chinese-backed projects in the country.

The accident at the Aurora Solar site near the southern Bosnian city of Stolac triggered an inspection that uncovered 71 illegal Chinese workers in October. Authorities quickly deported them, ruled construction of the $116 million project illegal, and opened investigations into the possible misuse of public land in November.

[...] the move marked a rare setback for China's economic footprint in the Balkans and a successful instance of public resistance to Chinese projects.

[...] the lawyer for China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), the Chinese company building the solar project, told RFE/RL's Balkan Service last month that all the workers arrived legally and he had filed all the necessary paperwork for each of them.

Both Aurora Solar [...] and NORINCO, the contractor, maintain that all necessary permits were obtained in accordance with the law. Neither company has announced that it plans to challenge the decision.

[...] residents accuse the Chinese conglomerate Zijin Mining Group of land grabs, causing pollution, and disregarding their livelihoods.

[...] authorities have gone to great lengths to accommodate Zijin and sidestepped legal procedures in the process.