The Journal of Contemporary China just published a study titled "The Domestic Mechanisms of China's Vertical Multilateralism: The FOCAC and the 16+1 Format Case Studies" by Dominik Mierzejewski, Bartosz Kowalski and Jaroslaw Jura.
The study concludes that China's engagement in multilateral cooperation with Africa and Central and Eastern Europe has to a considerable extent, mirrored mechanisms in China's domestic governance: generating enthusiasm and mobilization through slogan politics and informal political networks, which are influenced by the process of centralization of power and the coordination of horizontal competition with Beijing in a dominant position. However, due to different cultural backgrounds, the political landscape, and the economic environment, the mechanisms of the FOCAC and China-CEE cooperation are implemented differently and with different intensity to those in Chinese internal affairs.
