III Some CEECs play an increasingly positive role in enhancing“16+1 Cooperation”

The 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe are China's equal cooperation partners and they have the same importance to China. While there exist differences in geographical position, natural and human resources, historical traditions, cooperation willingness and so on. Now, Serbia and Hungary have played important roles in promoting the cooperation under the“16+1 Cooperation” framework.

Serbia is the country which has acquired a lot of cooperation achievements among 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe under the“16+1 Cooperation” framework. Many achievements gained by China in Europe are landing in Serbia. For instance, the first bridge constructed by China in Europe is Zemun-Borca Bridge in Serbia, Serbia is the first country in Europe to offer visa-free to China, the first thermal power station which meets European Union's standards is Kostolac Thermal Power Plant of Serbia constructed by Chinese enterprise, the first production capacity cooperation project is Smederevo Steel Plant invested by HBIS Group which achieved profitability the same year they started operation, and the first high-speed train that is going to be constructed in Europe is Hungary-Serbia Railway.

China's relation with Hungary develops smoothly among relations with 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. China-Hungary relation has created a lot of“First”: Hungary is the first country in Europe to officially sign the intergovernmental cooperation document on jointly promoting the“Belt and Road” Initiative; Hungary is the first country to set up the“Belt and Road” working group with China; Hungary is the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to establish a Renminbi clearing bank; Hungary is the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to issue bond in yuan; Hungary is the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to set up the official agency of Tourism Authority of China; Hungary is also the first country in Europe to implement bilingual education on mother tongue and Chinese.