Cooperation Between China and Central and Eastern European Countries

Abstract

On April 26, 2012, Wen Jiabao, then Premier of the State Council of China, met in Warsaw, Poland, with the leaders of 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), and the China–CEEC cooperation was formally established. The China–CEEC Cooperation Secretariat was established in September 2012 and is located at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. As a coordination agency to advance cooperation, the Central and Eastern European countries appointed national coordinators to coordinate with the Secretariat. The 16 Central and Eastern European countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In 2019, Greece officially joined, becoming the 17th participant of the Central and Eastern Europe cooperation. On November 26, 2013, the second China–CEEC Leaders’ Meeting was held in Bucharest, Romania. Premier Li Keqiang and the leaders of 16 Central and Eastern European countries jointly released the “Bucharest Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries”, which made it clear that the Meeting of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European countries will be held every year, and the National Coordinators’ Meeting will be held twice a year.