Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia, March 7 (CTK) – Chinese may help the Karlovy Vary Region with investments, also in dilapidated historical monuments, and also as guests to local spas, Czech President Milos Zeman said during a visit to the region yesterday.
He said an increase in China’s Czech investments can be expected in connection with the planned visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Czech Republic.
Xi Jinping, together with a delegation of entrepreneurs, is scheduled to pay the visit on March 28.
“For the Karlovy Vary Region, this may mean a vast inflow of both Chinese tourists, spa clients, and, after all, some investment projects, maybe also investments in dilapidated complexes such as the Kyselka spa,” Zeman said.
A couple of years ago, the spa sector in the region was badly afflicted by the steep decline of the rouble and the crisis in Ukraine. As a result, the number of clients from Russian-speaking countries decreased.
For a number of local spa facilities, however, Russians made up the core of their clientele.
Zeman said the Chinese businesspeople are preparing another investment wave that could bring up to 45 billion crowns to the Czech Republic.
He said three direct flight connections between Prague and the most important Chinese cities have been agreed upon.
The Czech Republic is the only EU country Xi Jinping will visit on his way to the USA. Zeman previously said about 20 concrete business contracts were prepared for being signed during Xi Jinping’s visit, in addition to a strategic partnership agreement.
($1=24.661 crowns)
