The Prime Minister and President also discussed the strategic partnership between Czech Republic and China, which should be signed next year during the visit of Xi Jinping in the Czech Republic. It will be historically the first visit of the Chinese president in the Czech Republic since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

„Czech-Chinese relations are going from strength to strength and currently they are historically at their best. With President Xi Jinping, we discussed further development of our relations in many areas. Czech Republic has a direct flight connection to China from Beijing to Prague. Next year, the plan is to open a direct flight from Shanghai to Prague, which will connect Prague with the economic heart of China. Czech Republic is attracting important Chinese investments, Chinese banks are expanding their activities to the Czech Republic, this year we saw the opening of a branch of Bank of China. These are all prerequisites for the Czech Republic to become a transportation hub and financial centre of China for Central and Eastern Europe,“ said Prime Minister Sobotka.

After the meeting, Czech Republic and China signed a Memorandum about cooperation on One Belt One Road. Within this initiative the priorities of the Czech Republic are to become a transportation hub for China in Central and Eastern Europe and a financial centre for Chinese banks for their expansion in the region. Czech Republic also plans to further develop industrial cooperation with China – especially in the areas of science, research and innovation.