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As Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) on February 9, a recent triumph for cooperation between the two regions was on everyone's mind.

In January, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic waited at the airport to receive a shipment of one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinopharm. The shipment put the relatively small Serbia significantly ahead of other powerful EU countries in the race to get all citizens vaccinated. China's speed and efficiency in delivering vaccines to other nations was widely commented on.

The world took notice that while the West talks about solidarity with smaller and developing nations, China actually delivers. In his address on Tuesday, Xi said China is willing to consider working with the 17 CEE countries to cooperate on the COVID-19 vaccine.

This is a valuable offer. So far, Western countries have bought up enough orders to vaccinate their own populations many times over, with no apologies for their "me-first" policies. The COVAX program has so far unable to meet the demand from developing countries, which are becoming increasingly desperate for help to protect their people.

Even rich countries are looking to China. Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that "Serbia is vaccinating with the Chinese vaccine. We have always said that every vaccine trying to obtain approval from the European Medicines Agency is very welcome." The delivery of desperately needed vaccines is understandably one of the flashiest aspects of China-CEEC cooperation, but it is ultimately only a small anecdote in a much bigger story.

China has been literally building connections to Europe as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, including the Piraeus port in Greece and the Peljesac Bridge in Serbia. Cooperation between China and the CEEC formally started in 2012. Painstaking years of diplomatic work and searching for common ground has led to an 85 percent increase in trade. Tourism between the countries is now four times the original volume. More than 30,000 trips between the two regions have been made by China Railway Express.

China's ability to supply other countries in need with vaccine may have grabbed headlines, but the real story is the long-term trade and person-to-person ties built up over the years based on discussion, mutual respect, and the search for areas of win-win cooperation. As Europe struggles to recover from an economic slump, Xi told CEEC leaders that China aims to import more than $170 billion worth of goods from their countries and increase the trade volume for agricultural products by 50 percent.

As China continues to open its economy, more opportunities will emerge for cooperation, including in areas like green development, e-commerce, and customs, security, and trade cooperation. Authors like Oxford University's Peter Frankopan have tried to reframe world history as developing along the Silk Roads connecting Europe and China. Under the Belt and Road initiative, China is literally making history by rebuilding the bridges, creating wealth and prosperity in the process.

The United States sees China as an extreme competitor, but right now, countries in Eastern and Central Europe see China as a friend in need. Of course, people will remember receiving the vaccines with gratitude. But in the long-run, it won't be the memorable news photos of CEEC citizens getting lifesaving vaccines ahead of the people in Western European capitals that will matter. Rather, it will be farmers, merchants, and regular workers who see their lives improve one cargo container or one educational exchange at a time.

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