The representatives of the think tanks of China and 16 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) met here on Monday to evaluate and discuss the "16+1 cooperation".

"Five years have passed and together we have made great achievements in policy consultation, economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, and many other fields," Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Duan Jielong said in his opening remarks.

He said the bilateral relationships today between China and CEE countries are "at their best in history."

"We expanded our infrastructure and industrial partnerships," he said.

Istvan Ijgyarto, Hungarian State Secretary for Cultural and Science Diplomacy, praised the importance of think tanks in the "16+1 cooperation".

Hungary upholds the view that China-CEEC cooperation constitutes an important part of cooperation between the Eurpean Union and China in the framework of their comprehensive strategic partnership, Ijgyarto said.

Huang Ping, director-general of the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "We are here to implement the great ideas and suggestions and to use this forum as a platform to improve the bilateral relations of all the sixteen countries with China."

The conference entitled "The achievements of '16+1 cooperation' in the latest five years" has been jointly sponsored by the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the China-CEEC Think Tanks Network, by the HungarianMinistry of Foreign Affairsand Trade and by the Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

High on the agenda of the conference are the evaluation and discussion on the progress of the investment of China in CEEC, on the local collaboration in the 16+1 cooperation, and on the progress of transportation and communication.