16+1 platform is unifying, rather than divisive

The"16+1" cooperation mechanism, which brings together 16 Central and Eastern European countries and China, is an effective multilateral platform that meets the participants' different development needs and dovetails their varied development agendas.

Yet not all see its leaders' meeting, in session in Dubrovnik, Croatia, that way.

From Brussels to the other coast of the Atlantic, there seem to be worries that growing Chinese outreach to the region will prove problematic, especially from the perspective of European unity.