Prague, Sept 13 (CTK) – The Czech-Chinese Centre that was established at Prague’s Charles University (UK) last spring will extend its activities and it plans to cooperate with the Czech Academy of Sciences (AV CR), its secretary Milos Balaban told CTK yesterday.
The centre focuses on social sciences, security, economy and mainly sinology, which should be boosted in the Czech Republic by the planned cooperation with the AV CR, Balaban said.
He said the centre’s priorities include the exchange of students between the two countries and the organising of conferences.
Balaban pointed to Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka’s statement earlier this year that the Czech Republic will increasingly need Chinese who would be able to make themselves understood in Czech.
The number of Chinese students at Czech universities should rise as well, Balaban said.
For the time being, four UK faculties cooperate within the Czech-Chinese Centre. They are the faculties of social sciences, arts, education and law.
“Our cooperation with the AV CR has just begun,” Balaban said.
He said one of the AV CR’s institutes that might be interested in the cooperation is the Centre of Global Studies at the Philosophical Institute, which has launched a new research programme named Global conflicts and local aspects.
“We focus on important social, cultural and political conflicts that take place in the global context and have a global impact. We are trying to analyse and critically assess various disputes and potential solutions, including those between the EU and China,” the Centre of Global Studies head Marek Hudec said.
