Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) shakes hands with Czech President Milos Zeman in Prague yesterday. — AFP
CHINESE President Xi Jinping
yesterday signed a landmark strategic partnership with his Czech counterpart
Milos Zeman in Prague.
The Czech president, who had
billed Xi’s visit as a chance to boost trade with the world’s second-largest
economy, announced that Chinese investors would pour CZK95 billion (US$3.93
billion) into the central European country this year alone.
Zeman welcomed the Chinese
leader with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute, at Prague Castle.
Zeman said he wanted the Czech
Republic to become a “safe haven” for #Chinese_investment in the EU. Xi said the
agreement gave the “political direction” for the future development of
bilateral relations.
Both presidents spoke highly
of current bilateral relations and reached broad consensus on bilateral ties,
the relations between China and the European Union as well as the cooperation
between China and the countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Xi pointed out that the
relationship between China and the Czech Republic is booming with frequent high-level
official interactions and flourishing economic cooperation between the two
countries.
China stands ready to work
with the Czech Republic to cherish the sound yet hard-won bilateral relations,
strengthen mutual political trust and promote pragmatic cooperation, he said.
Zeman, referring to China as
“a major economic partner” of the European Union, said his country is committed
to becoming a gateway for China to the EU and a hub for transport, logistics
and finance in China-EU trade.
The two countries issued a
joint statement on lifting their ties to a strategic partnership after talks in
which both sides agreed to continue close high-level contacts as the exemplary
for over-all relations, enhancing friendly cooperation between ministries,
legislative bodies and local governments.
The two sides also decided to
establish an intergovernmental strategic dialogue mechanism to map out the
future development of the bilateral ties.
Xi reaffirmed China’s
long-standing support for Europe’s integration and said China is happy to see a
prosperous, united and stable EU, and is willing to work with EU members and
other European countries to contribute positively to world peace and
development.
Chinese group CEFC, among the
country’s top-10 private companies, recently spent about CZK20 billion to
acquire stakes in a Czech airline, a brewery, two media groups and a top
football team.
Zeman said Czech carmaker
Skoda Auto, a unit of Germany’s Volkswagen, would invest CZK60 billion in China
over the next five years.
Xi arrived in Prague on Monday
for a three-day state visit, the first by a Chinese president in the 67 years
since the two countries established diplomatic ties. It is also Xi’s maiden
visit to the CEE region since he assumed presidency in 2013 and his first trip
to Europe this year.
Xi said the two countries had
a responsibility to renew their long-standing friendship. Zeman said he
believes Xi’s visit will provide new opportunities to enhance political trust
and exchanges.
On Monday, Zeman hosted the
Chinese president at his official residence, where the two were photographed
planting a ginkgo tree, holding watering cans emblazoned with their national
flags.
During his visit to China in
2014, Zeman presented Xi with an apple tree sapling, which symbolizes cooperation
in the Czech Republic.
After his visit to Prague, Xi
will travel to the United States to attend a nuclear security summit which
begins tomorrow.
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