Beijing, Nov 27 (CTK special correspondent) – Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka met his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang on Friday and they both watched the signature of 12 memoranda and agreements covering sport and health care among others.
The Chinese said they would like to participate in the Czech nuclear energy industry.
Sobotka and Li Keqiang discussed bilateral relations, the situation in Syria, international terrorism and the forthcoming U.N. climate conference.
“Apart from bilateral relations, we discussed other issues such as the situation in Syria and the risk of international terrorism. I asked the Chinese prime minister for China to play as active role as possible in the search for agreement between the Syrian parties [to the conflict],” Sobotka told journalists after the meeting.
“We agreed that [the conflict in] Syria has no military solution. The only possible solution in Syria is a political one,” Sobotka said.
“I informed the Chinese prime minister about the Czech Republic´s activities in fighting terrorism. We agreed that terrorism must be fought and that a resolute approach to it and cooperation of the whole international community is necessary,” Sobotka said.
“We also spoke about the Paris climate change conference. I think it is important that China, too, should approach these negotiations constructively and help reach an agreement that would be legally binding and would mean real changes, i.e. reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” Sobotka said.
He said he and Li Keqiang also discussed reforms in China.
“I supported the changes made in the area of the environment [protection] and the fight against corruption, and also the government´s effort for [China to become] a law-abiding state, because it implies a human-rights guarantee for every citizen. We discussed ways to gradually enhance the rule of law in China,” Sobotka said.
Sobotka said Czech-Chinese cooperation continues to develop, particularly in the sphere of health care and that it is very active between individual regions.
Liu Haixing, director of the European affairs department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told journalists that cooperation between the two countries has been expanding.
He said the Czechs would like to continue cooperating with China in air industry and health care, which Beijing welcomes.
Liu said China is ready to invest more in infrastructure in the Czech Republic.
One of the agreements signed covers sports exchanges, he said. Cooperation would first focus on football and later also on winter sports, specifically hockey, skiing and skating.
The Czech Republic has very good results in these spheres and there is a great cooperation potential, Liu said.
