China-Europe partnership benefits all
Stronger 16+1 cooperation to face uncertainty
China and the Central and Eastern European countries launched the"16+1 cooperation" mechanism in 2012. One year later, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative. In the five years since then, a new way of developing the 16+1 mechanism has emerged.
The historical dimension of the mechanism is the bilateral relationship between China and individual CEE countries. For the CEE countries, those relationships are full of diversities. But from China's perspective, the CEE countries form a sub-region with more similarities than diversities.
On the basis of this perception, China tried to improve connectivity among the CEE countries, by proposing the 16+1 cooperation mechanism, which is the second dimension.
The third and most important dimension is the Belt and Road Initiative, which provides the key areas of 16+1 cooperation. An analysis of the "List of Deliverables of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" and the "Five-year Outcome List of Cooperation Between China and CEE Countries", issued after the 6th China-CEEC Summit last year, shows the two lists shared the core value of connectivity and prioritized the same five key areas: policy, infrastructure, trade, financial exchange and people-to-people exchange.
The function of the mechanism will be influenced by the uncertainties of globalization, especially because trade protectionism and political populism are challenging the world economic and political order, and US has emerged as a disrupter of international relations.
The changing world will give rise to a new interaction model for global players. China has provided its wisdom to build a community with a shared future for mankind. And despite the rising global uncertainties, China has been defending and promoting globalization, trade liberalization and investment facilitation, even as part of China-CEEC cooperation. So China and the CEE countries should make joint efforts to strengthen the 16+1 cooperation mechanism in order to avoid risks.
