PrefaceChina’s The Belt and Road initiative has attracted worldwide attention. As Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is an important region along the Belt and Road, CEE countries have made growing cooperation with China. Before the formal initiation of the Belt and Road, China has established “16+1” cooperative framework in 2002. In the past few years, under the promotion of this mechanism, bilateral exchange and cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other fields have been greatly deepened, which have achieved remarkable achievements and have effectively promoted the construction of the Belt and Road initiative in Central and Eastern Europe.Both the construction of the Belt and Road initiative in CEEC and “16+1” cooperative framework are important practice of China’s opening up policy in the 21st century and they have also become the topical issues that pay attention by scholars from think tanks. Think tanks in CEE region have attached more importance to the current situation, prospect and challenges of China-CEEC cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1” cooperative framework. They also made in-depth study from the level of countries, CEE region and even the whole Europe in the perspective of politics, economy and culture. As bilateral cooperation is increasingly deepened, we need to understand and analyze further that how CEE scholars consider the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1”cooperation as well as their analysis about current cooperation and challenges. It will be helpful for both sides to get acknowledge of the essential characteristics and latest progress of the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1” cooperation, to achieve the effect of“telling Chinese stories by foreigner’s mouth”. What’s more, it also provides useful ideas for the promotion of the Belt and Road initiative in CEE region and the deepening of“16+1” cooperation.Therefore, under the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, China-CEEC Think Tanks Exchange and Cooperation Network (shorted as 16+1 Think Tanks Network) has organized many activities such as seminars, joint projects, to make close cooperation with CEEC think tanks, which has achieved a lot of research fruits. The papers in this book is selected from the outcomes of the Compass Plan of China-EU Relations Fund by Chinese Foreign Ministry in 2015, and Project of China-CEEC Relations Research Fund in 2016.The book includes ten scholars’ papers about China-CEEC relations under the the Belt and Road initiative and “16+1” cooperative framework. The themes cover the possible connection of national strategies, economy and trade, investment, infrastructure, cultural exchanges. Countries from the Baltic Sea, Central Europe and the Balkan region are involved. All these papers are the most cutting-edge and in-depth research from CEEC think tanks. We hope that it will bring positive effects for the CEEC study both at home and abroad, and the procedure of decision making by related ministries.Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the team for the fruitful works they have made during the project. They are Liu Zuokui, director of the Secretariat of the 16+1 Think Tank Network and director of the Department of Central and Eastern European Studies, Institute of European Studies, CASS; Ju Weiwei and Ma Junchi, researchers of the Department of Central and Eastern European Studies; Bing Xue and Zhang Tong, programme officers of the Secretariat of the 16+1 Think Tank Network.Huang PingSecretary-General of the 16+1 Think Tank NetworkDirector-General of the Institute of European Studies, CASS