By Hou Yongzhi, Liu Peilin & He Jianwu, Research Team on “Deepening China’s Cooperation with the Central and Eastern European Countries in Line with the Belt and Road Initiative”, DRC

Research Report No. 196, 2017 (Total. 5271) 2017-12-26

Abstract: The special geographical location of the Central and Eastern Europe indicates that to promote cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries in line with the Belt and Road Initiative is of great importance. In order to further strengthen the policy-related exchanges and strategic coordination with these countries and deepen cooperation with them in lockstep with the Belt and Road principle, in September 2017, DRC sent a study group to three countries in the Central and Eastern Europe including Czech, Serbia and Croatia and members of the group conducted an in-depth research there on the above-mentioned issue. Based on the research findings, this paper gives an illustration of the major progress of the cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries in accordance with the Belt and Road Initiative, analyzes the main problems and challenges facing their current cooperation, and notes that there is a great potential for the cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries in the fields of hi-tech industry, traditional manufacturing industry, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure facilities in the course of industrialization in these countries. In addition, it puts forward relevant policy options on how to deepen cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries and advance the Belt and Road construction.

Key words: the Belt and Road Initiative, Central and Eastern European countries, policy-related exchanges