Beijing, May 12 (CTK special correspondent) – Representatives of the Czech Republic, with the Czech and Chinese presidents, Milos Zeman and Xi Jinping, present, signed three agreements on cooperation in the economic and healthcare sectors on Friday.
Industry and Trade Minister Jiri Havlicek (Social Democrats, CSSD) signed two agreements – a memorandum of cooperation between small- and medium-size businesses, and a memorandum of joint coordination of projects related to the modern Silk Road.
Presidential Office foreign affairs chief Rudolf Jindrak told CTK that a group would be established to regularly monitor particular projects related to the Silk Road. This group is likely to operate on the government level, he said.
Great part of the negotiations on Friday dealt with the development of the Silk Road, which is a project of large economic cooperation between China and Asian and European countries. Beijing wants to develop railway, maritime, economic and industrial infrastructure.
China wants to continue with the tradition of the ancient Silk Road and improve the Asian connection with Europe and Africa.
Representatives of the Czech and Chinese health ministries signed an action plan for 2017-2019.
Zeman and Xi met together with members of their national delegations. The three agreements were signed at the end of their half-an-hour meeting.
Zeman said during the meeting that he had brought 38 projects to China, a part of which would be signed Friday and on Saturday and the rest at a Czech-Chinese investment forum in July.
Zeman also had talks with China Banking Regulatory Commission chairman Guo Shuqing about the operation of banks and bank cooperation.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), one of the world’s biggest banks, has already received a licence for setting up its branch in the Czech Republic from the Czech National Bank (CNB). CNB governor Jiri Rusnok is a member of the Czech delegation, too.
Zeman and Havlicek also met the management of the Chinese firm Linglong Tyre that plans to build a tyre factory in Poland, Slovakia or the Czech Republic, in which up to 1,500 people might be employed. The firm’s representatives recently visited the Mosnov industrial zone in northern Moravia.
According to CTK’s information, this project was discussed in detail on Friday, however, Linglong Tyre did not announce its final decision.
