The Belt and Road Initiative depicted in Hungary and Slovakia

ABSTRACT Central and Eastern European countries, like Hungary and Slovakia, are located along the Western section of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and serve as a gateway to the European Union. Thus, the participation of the CEE region is inevitable in the BRI, and the attitude of national governments and the public opinion may have an impact on the future of EU-China relations in the framework of the new “Silk Road” connecting the East to the West. The following paper offers an introduction to the so-called 16 + 1 cooperation of China and its 16 partners in the CEE region, and analyzes the political environment, public support, and media discourse of the BRI in two selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe.