Czech Republic the highlight of Xi’s first CEE visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping is to kick off his historic visit to the Czech Republic next Monday. Experts believe the visit demonstrates the significance of the Czech Republic as an important cooperation partner for China in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region.

 

It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state since the two nations established diplomatic ties 67 years ago. The three-day tour is Xi’s first visit to a CEE country as well.

 

The China-Czech relationship has gone through a rough patch in the past 67 years, but it has started to warm up following visits to China by top-level officials from the Czech Republic in recent years.

 

Czech President Milos Zeman attended China’s commemoration of the victory against Japanese aggression last September as the only head of state from the EU. His praise on China’s contribution and sacrifices in the World Anti-Fascist War also captured much limelight.

 

The move was seen as a signal that the Czech politicians have reached a consensus on boosting ties with China.

 

Besides political exchanges, economic and trade ties are also flourishing. Zhao Junjie, a research fellow of the Institute of European Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explained that the previous turbulence in bilateral ties can be attributed to both geopolitical factors and lack of economic cooperation areas.

 

But in recent years, with robust economic vitality and development potential, China and 16 CEE

countries including the Czech Republic have shown intense desire to seek cooperation and exchanges, he added.

 

Such momentum has accelerated especially after China and the CEE countries established the “16+1” cooperation mechanism. Their cooperation in economy, trade, investment, finance, manufacturing, aviation, nuclear energy has reaped fruits.

 

With bilateral trade volume in 2015 totaling $11 billion, the Czech Republic is now China’s second-largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe, while China is the top trading partner of the Czech Republic outside the EU.

 

Skoda, the Czech automobile brand, exports 25 percent of its global production to the Chinese market.

 

Zhao noted that Xi’s visit will encourage the Czech Republic to take a more proactive role in building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

 

Hailed as the “heart of Europe”, the Czech Republic is situated at a junction point along the Belt and Road route. Last November, when Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka attended the 4th summit of China and CEE countries in China, both sides inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on building the Belt and Road. It is the first MOU sealed by China and a CEE country concerning the initiative.

 

Europe is a priority region for the implementation of the initiative and establishment of production cooperation, and CEE countries can act as a bridge linking China and Europe, Zhao pointed out.

 

“Its geographic location and influence on the CEE countries make the Czech Republic ideal for such a task,” he explained.

 

Among the 16 CEE countries, the Czech Republic is the most prosperous country and is classified as a developed EU member by both the World Bank and the EU.

 

With rich industrial and tourism resources, the Czech Republic has also become a major investment destination for China. New energy, nuclear power, innovation industry, high-speed railway, textile and culture are expected to be new fronts for bilateral cooperation.

 

(Wu Qiong contributed to the story)