https://thediplomat.com/2015/02/mackinder-revisited-will-china-establish-eurasian-empire-3-0/

Nevertheless, it may be a little bit too early to write off Mackinder’s prophecies. For there has emerged another contender for the control over the Heartland: China. Although Beijing is making inroads in places as far away as Africa and Latin America, its main game is in Eurasia. We can only guess if Chinese leaders have read Mackinder, but the strategies they are pursuing are more or less in line with the British geographer’s theory.

http://theconversation.com/chinas-play-for-supremacy-in-eurasia-revives-an-old-geopolitical-vision-71753

Much has been made of China’s assertiveness in its maritime sphere of influence, most notably in the light of its hotly contested claims in the South China Sea. But the rest of the world seems to have only recently started to notice the scale of what China is doing on land.

China’s engagement with the rest of Asia and the wider world has come to light in the form of the initiative known as One Belt One Road (一带一路), a broad economic, diplomatic and infrastructural programme designed to transform the way China deals with its Asian neighbours – and with the world beyond.

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-fears-divisions-as-china-woos-eastern-european-nations/a-44542971

Trade between the two sides has seen rapid growth over the past decade, with total commerce amounting to about $68 billion (€58 billion) in 2017. Over the past several years, China has pledged massive sums for infrastructure projects worth billions in the region, including in sectors that are critical for national security such as roads, railways and power stations.

In a bid to draw more Chinese money into the region, a special economic forum is being organized alongside this year's summit. Over 250 Chinese firms and 700 business executives from CEE nations are taking part in it. "Our main goal is to increase Chinese business presence in Bulgaria and in the whole region of Central and Eastern Europe," Bulgaria's Deputy Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev told Reuters.

https://www.politico.eu/article/europes-new-eastern-bloc-china-economy-model-belt-road-initiative/

In Beijing, 16+1 was until recently considered a masterstroke of Chinese diplomacy. Not only did it divide Europe, but it herded together countries from Russia’s former backyard and the EU club without much protest from either.