16+1 initiative from the point of view of Central and Eastern European Countries

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to evaluate the economic relationships between China and the CEE countries in terms of infrastructure development and interconnections. The analysis applies to 16 CEE countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montene-gro, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slo-venia, and Hungary. The article discusses the aspects of dependence of the 16+1 initiative with the OBOR program, the achievements of the program, the perception of the coopera-tion through direct foreign investments in parti- cular CEE-16 countries. According to the Author, it is necessary to develop more effective mechanisms of cooperation with the use of established secretariats and other institutions and to expand bilateral cooperation of China with individual countries. It would also be beneficial to conduct joint research.