Abstract:  Based on China’s stock of direct investment in Central and Eastern European countries, efficiency and potential of China’s direct investment in the 16 countries in Central Eastern Europe are measured against the background of “16+1” and “16+1+9” respectively, and their differences and causes are analyzed. It is found that the investment efficiency under the “16+1+9” sample is significantly higher than that under the “16+1” sample, and the investment potential under the “16+1+9” sample is higher than the “16+1” sample. The results show that China has higher investment efficiency and greater investment potential in EU members like Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, while in Balkan countries like Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Northern Macedonia, the investment efficiency is relatively low. 

Key words: Central and Eastern European countries, Inefficiency Stochastic Frontier Gravity Model, OFDI efficiency, OFDI potential ,