Xi's upcoming visit to seek closer link with central Europe, reinforce world nuclear security

BEIJING  -- Shortly after China's annual meetings of its top legislature and political advisory body, Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin a two-stop tour that will take him to the Czech Republic and the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 28-April 1.

The tour will be Xi's maiden visit to a Central and Eastern European (CEE) country as China's head of state and his first multilateral diplomatic trip in 2016.

In early March, when the presidential office of the Czech Republic announced Xi's visit, the local media acclaimed that Xi will be the first Chinese president to visit the Czech Republic in history, which is destined to be historic.

China and the Czech Republic established diplomatic relations as early as in October 1949, only five days after the People's Republic of China was founded.

After 67 years of time-tested development, bilateral ties have entered a new phase that witnesses the fastest development with the most fruitful results in history.

So far, the Czech Republic has become the second biggest trading partner of China in the CEE region, and China has been the Czech Republic's second biggest trading partner in the world, only next to the European Union (EU). In 2015, two-way trade topped 11 billion US dollars.

The two countries also boosted cooperation in the fields of nuclear electricity, banking, science and technology, and infrastructure.

The ever-closer high-level exchanges and increasingly solid political mutual trust have consolidated the general direction of the Sino-Czech relationship. Chinese President Xi and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman have met four times up to date.

"The Czech Republic plays a decisive role in the CEE with regard to its cultural richness, level of development and geographic location," said Professor Wang Yiwei of the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China.

"Since the new president of the Czech Republic takes office, he has discarded prejudice and been seeking pragmatic cooperation with China actively," Wang said, envisioning the friendly bilateral ties to gain new momentum.

In November 2015, China and the Czech Republic signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly building the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. It was the first of such documents signed between China and a CEE country.

China has sent a strong signal to the world by choosing the Czech Republic as the only stop of Xi's trip to Europe. In other words, China considers the Czech Republic as a crucial cooperation partner among EU member states and is keen to strengthen cooperation with the Czech Republic within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, said Luigi Gambardella, founder and president of ChinaEU.

During the visit, Xi will raise again the "16+1" mechanism, or China and CEE cooperation format, on the level of head of state.

All walks of life in the Czech Republic are holding high expectations from Xi's visit. The Czech News Agency said the two sides will further strengthen cooperation in the fields of manufacturing, scientific research, areospace, health care, agriculture, energy, culture, education, and tourism.

The Czech Republic is hopeful to become the center of services of Chinese financial institutions in the CEE region as well as the hub of air transport between China and the area.

On March 31-April 1, Xi will attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington with leaders and representatives of some 40 other countries.

At the third Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in 2014, Xi called for a fair, cooperative and win-win system of global nuclear security.

At the upcoming summit, Xi will make a keynote speech on beefing up the international nuclear security system in the aspects of political devotion, countries' responsibilities, international security, and culture of nuclear security.

China has a compelling obligation to participate in the summit, said Qu Xing, a Chinese scholar of international relations.

China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a world recognized nuclear power, so it has a special obligation for international security and peace, he added.

On the other hand, active participation in global nuclear management will infuse strong momentum into China's peaceful use of nuclear technology.

The volume of China's nuclear power generating units in motion or under construction ranks third in the world.

The largest nuclear security center in the Asia-Pacific region opened in Beijing on Friday.

The center, constructed by the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) and the U.S. Department of Energy, has the capacity to train about 2,000 nuclear security staff from China and other Asia-Pacific nations each year.

China and the United States agreed to establish the nuclear security center at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in 2010. Under the agreement, the center is run and administered by China, while the United States is responsible for providing nuclear security equipment.

During his stay in Washington, Xi will hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on bilateral relations and international cooperation.

The meeting will draw world attention as divergence on hot issues, such as South China Sea disputes and cyber security, is likely to be addressed.

"China and the United States enjoy a broad spectrum of cooperation. The foundation and flexibility have surpassed the past. The more questions and contradictions they have, the more necessary it is for the two leaders to conduct deep communication," said Ruan Zongze of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

"The summit between Xi and Obama will send a message to the international community that the channel of coordination between China and the United States is smooth, which is significantly important for the new type of major-country relationship between China and the United States," Ruan said.