PM: Deepening of ties a priority

Mutual cooperation between Czech Republic and China has much to offer both countries, Sobotka says

The Czech Republic is primarily and existentially connected with Europe and the European Union, while also enjoying historic and very close ties with the United States. Our main partner in Asia has always been South Korea. Given the importance of the People's Republic of China and its cooperation with other European countries, it is clear that the deepening of Czech-Chinese relations is one of the priorities of our government.

Individual European countries and the European Union as a whole enjoy close relations with China, which was confirmed in 2007 with the conclusion of a strategic partnership.

China has the second-largest economy in the world and therefore represents an important and key economic partner. Beijing is currently building high-level relations with Germany, the United Kingdom and France and has entered into strategic partnerships with all three.

Lately, Central and Eastern Europe has become an area where China has begun to develop a new strand of collaboration. Proof of this was seen in the establishment of the 16+1 initiative, which serves as the official platform for collaboration between the 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the People's Republic of China.

The Czech Republic harbors the ambition to serve as the key partner in Central Europe for China, and that is why the development of relations with China has been a priority for our government's foreign policy since the beginning. I am convinced that mutual cooperation is and will be beneficial for both sides in many ways.

Our country certainly has a lot to offer. Our unencumbered economy is the second-fastest growing in the European Union and our healthy and stable financial sector is an unquestionable national asset. The People's Republic of China is currently the fourth-largest business partner of the Czech Republic and this relationship is constantly being reinforced.

In addition to the 16+1 platform our country is also part of the new Silk Road - or the Belt and Road Initiative - project, whose members include dozens of countries from around the world.

I consider our efforts to establish ourselves as China's financial center within the EU as being crucial. We also have the ambition to be a regional transport and logistics hub by taking advantage of our favorable geographical position in the heart of Europe.

Bilateral cooperation between the two countries is set to take root in many different areas. The strengthening and intensifying of our cooperation has already led to great success, with a massive boom coming in aviation and tourism.

There is now a new direct flight between Prague and Beijing, which will be followed by a direct connection between Prague and Shanghai in the coming weeks. Our future plan is to connect Prague with one of China's largest economic centers, Chengdu. This will make traveling between both countries easier not only for business purposes but also as a way of supporting tourism.

Tourism has already felt the success of Czech-Chinese cooperation - 285,000 Chinese tourists came to the Czech Republic last year, which represents a 35 percent increase from 2014. Chinese tourists are gravitating to our country more and more and enjoy spending their money here. This was reflected in a notable and significant increase in this sector in the final months of last year.

The flagship area of Czech-Chinese collaboration is healthcare, where we are now focusing on medical tourism and spa and rehabilitation care. Both sides also support epidemiology and vaccination. I see the future of our collaboration in culture, education, science, research, engineering and digitization.

For the development of our relations in all of these fields, meetings and discussions between representatives of both countries on the highest level are essential. On a personal note, last year was pivotal in this respect. I had already visited China before, but last year was my first visit as prime minister. I was afforded the privilege of personally meeting with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other members of the Chinese government. I also met with the mayor of Beijing during my trip as well as with a number of representatives of Chinese companies and the banking sectors.

The main priorities of my journey were to foster cooperation between the two countries with regard to the economy, finance, healthcare, spa tourism, the tourist industry and the related transport infrastructure, industry, sport and university education. During my visit, 31 agreements and memoranda were signed in various fields with particular emphasis on specific cooperation in healthcare, education and business.

However, above all, I consider as essential those moments that cannot be transformed into contracts or converted into numbers. Such moments came during my personal meetings with representatives of the People's Republic of China, which symbolize the strong basis for the development of our future cooperation.

Indeed, President Xi Jinping's March visit to Prague is proof of that. This is an important event since it marks the first visit of a Chinese president to the Czech Republic, and I am sure that we will continue with the topics raised during my recent visit to China in the autumn.

I am especially honored that after Berlin and London, Prague will be the next European city that the Chinese president will visit. On the occasion of this upcoming visit, the Czech Republic will be the only European stop for the Chinese president, which is testament to the dynamic development of Czech-Chinese relations.

This is a commentary by Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka

(China Daily 03/29/2016 page5)