As the US Secretary of State stated the growth of Chinese influence in Europe, and a certain relationship between Croatia and China, the Prime Minister of Croatia told reporters:

"I said that the '17 plus 1 'format is a phenomenal format from the aspect of China, if you look at the countries from the Adriatic to the Baltics."

"Ultimately, you heard today, 650 million exchanges with America, and with China ... about a billion. This is one indicator that is not irrelevant in the whole story," Plenković added, and immediately mentioned the process of abolishing visas for US citizens. Croatian:

"That's why it's important to us that we meet this 3 percent criterion for visas."

Regarding the presence of China and the United States in Europe, Plenković also said that "the fact that they came up with the idea that does not mean that others could not come up with regional or multilateral formats."