China’s The Belt and Road initiative has attracted worldwide attention. As Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is an important region along the Belt and Road, CEE countries have made growing cooperation with China. Before the formal initiation of the Belt and Road, China has established “16+1” cooperative framework in 2002. In the past few years, under the promotion of this mechanism, bilateral exchange and cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other fields have been greatly deepened, which have achieved remarkable achievements and have effectively promoted the construction of the Belt and Road initiative in Central and Eastern Europe.
Both the construction of the Belt and Road initiative in CEEC and “16+1” cooperative framework are important practice of China’s opening up policy in the 21st century and they have also become the topical issues that pay attention by scholars from think tanks.
Think tanks in CEE region have attached more importance to the current situation, prospect and challenges of China-CEEC cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1” cooperative framework. They also made in-depth study from the level of countries, CEE region and even the whole Europe in the perspective of politics, economy and culture. As bilateral cooperation is increasingly deepened, we need to understand and analyze further that how CEE scholars consider the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1” cooperation as well as their analysis about current cooperation and challenges.
It will be helpful for both sides to get acknowledge of the essential characteristics and latest progress of the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1” cooperation, to achieve the effect of “telling Chinese stories by foreigner’s mouth”. What’s more, it also provides useful ideas for the promotion of the Belt and Road initiative in CEE region and the deepening of “16+1” cooperation.