This chapter provides a systematic analysis of China’s cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) in the context of the One Belt, One Road Initiative. It argues that China’s cooperation with the CEECs is motivated by the desire to serve the mutual interests of the participatory states by providing public goods that foster international connectivity and cooperation. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to explore all of the available and potential opportunities and to overcome various obstacles, including the convergence and divergence of national interests, symmetry and asymmetry in state power, and internal and external challenges. This chapter considers three different principles, dominance, reciprocity and identity, which emanate from the three major IR theoretical approaches. It aims to interpret the process, results and implications of the 16+1 cooperation framework. The chapter first introduces the general context, central questions and main argument/thesis. It then defines the 16+1 cooperation as a public good and describes the analytical framework. China-CEECs cooperation in the 16+1 process is then analysed in terms of results, obstacles and challenges, and feedback from various sources. This process of international cooperation is further examined through the three different IR theoretical principles. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the theoretical implications of the analysis.