Premier Li Keqiang and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on April 12 met the press after the eighth China-central and eastern European countries (CEEC) leaders’ meeting in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

Both leaders spoke highly of the progress made in China-CEEC cooperation and called the meeting efficient, pragmatic, fruitful and successful.

The meeting released the Dubrovnik Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, pointing to the future development of what is known as “16+1” cooperation.

Greece joined the China-CEEC group as a full member, and was welcomed by all other members.

Premier Li said that faced with the current complicated international situation, all sides should work to safeguard multilateralism and free trade.

As a cross-regional cooperation platform, “16+1” cooperation now serves as an important part of and beneficial supplement to China-EU cooperation, the Premier said.

According to the joint statement published by the 21st China-EU leaders’ meeting, both sides pledged broader, easier and non-discriminatory market access for each other.

With adherence to the principles of mutual respect and equal treatment, EU laws and regulations, and the spirit of openness and transparency and market-oriented rules when furthering cooperation projects, “16+1” cooperation has made positive contributions to promoting China-CEEC and China-EU relations, the Premier said.