When Xi Jinping's plane touched down in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, on March 28, it marked the first time a Chinese president paid a state visit since it established diplomatic relations with the former Czechoslovakia 67 years ago. It was also Xi's first trip to Europe this year. 

Due to its pro-Western hawkish stance that laced previous Czech policies toward China, relations between the two had long been tepid, despite enjoying growing bilateral economic cooperation in recent years. Since Milos Zeman of the Czech's Social Democrat Party assumed the presidency in March 2013, however, relations are now developing on a fast track, and the tone has changed completely.  

In discussing the significance of Xi's visit, President Zeman said to China Central Television (CCTV), "It's a new start, since we used to have terrible relations with China and the previous government gave in to pressure from the United States and the European Union (EU)." He said that now Prague "formulate[s] our foreign policy based on our own interests." 

In just the last two years, Zeman has paid two visits to China, and the presidents of the two countries have met four times. Last September, the Czech president was the only head of state from an EU country to participate in the ceremony in Beijing celebrating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. His presence alone highlighted the warming relationship between Beijing and Prague. 

Creating a model 

Chinese researchers noted that President Xi's selection of the Czech Republic as the destination of his first state trip to a Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) country is not merely due to increasingly cozy relations. Another account is that the fast-developing China-Czech cooperation is of great value in furthering China's cooperation with regional countries. In other words, sound China-Czech cooperation could be a model for China-CEE cooperation.  

Since the governments of China and 16 CEE nations formed the annual meeting mechanism in 2012, known as "16+1" mechanism of cooperation, the Czech Republic has been active in promoting China-CEE cooperation. In a recent interview with China's Xinhua News Agency, Czech Chamber of Deputies Chairman Jan Hamacek said his country believes that it should play an ambitious role in upgrading China's cooperation with the 16 CEE countries as a whole. 

Situated at both the heart of Europe and a critical juncture of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (Belt and Road Initiative), the Czechs enjoy an advantageous geopolitical position. Already, with its rich industrial resources and a per capita GDP of nearly $20,000, the Czech Republic is one of the most advanced and prosperous economies among the CEE countries. The CEE meanwhile is an essential component of China's Belt and Road Initiative, as a quarter of the countries along the route are located within in it. 

On the economic front, for many years in a row, China has been the Czech Republic's largest trading partner outside the EU, while the latter is the former's second largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2015, bilateral trade topped $11 billion. Cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, aviation, finance, nuclear power, science and technology have all reached new heights both in size and scope. Moreover, many Chinese and Czech companies have investments and booming business operations in each other's countries. 

In an analysis article recently published on People's Daily website, Ruan Zongze, Deputy President of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), wrote that as the most developed CEE economy and an important member of the EU, the Czech Republic--bordered by Poland to the north and Germany to the west--can play the role of a bridge between China and European countries. President Xi's visit was therefore expected to help consolidate the foundation for China-Czech cooperation, and create an impetus for further China-Europe cooperation. 

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has on many occasions expressed his strong enthusiasm and willingness to play a part in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, hoping that his country could become a "bellwether" for cooperation between China and the CEE region. 

Last November, China and the Czech Republic signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative at the fourth leaders' meeting of China and the CEE countries in east China's Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province. It was the first MOU sealed by China and a CEE country concerning the initiative. 

According to Chen Yang, a researcher with China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, exports account for 80 percent of the Czech Republic's GDP. Against the backdrop of the weak recovery of the EU economy and the Russian market, the two traditional export destinations for Czech goods, Prague's eastward-looking strategy can really benefit from the China-proposed initiative. 

For China, the European nation offers a sound investment environment for Chinese enterprises. Wang Peng, a researcher on international studies with Tsinghua University, said compared with other CEE countries, the Czech Government attaches more importance to attracting foreign investment and insists on the practice of offering national treatment for foreign investment. According to Wang, the solid industrial base, high-quality labor, good infrastructure--as well as a favorable geographical location—work in favor for the Czechs to attract foreign investment and of course, Chinese investment.  

Chen said with China in a stage of industrial transformation and its enterprises seeking opportunities abroad, Xi's visit will help expand bilateral cooperation. Signed agreements between the two covered a wide range of sectors, including commitments to: enhancing production capacity cooperation in the manufacturing industry such as automobile, aviation and machinery; deepening cooperation in such fields as air transportation, finance, and nuclear energy; and pushing forward innovation and cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, communication, e-commerce, environmental protection and nanotechnology. 

Boosting ties 

The two countries issued a joint statement on elevating bilateral ties to a strategic partnership after the talks, in which they agreed to continue making close high-level contact as the exemplary for overall relations and enhancing friendly cooperation between ministries, legislative bodies and local governments. The upgraded partnership will be conducive to ushering in a new era of positive relations, one which seeks more common interests and closer cooperation. 

In the joint media conference with Zeman after their talks, Xi said the new definition of the bilateral ties has pointed out "a clear political direction" and that "the strategic partnership has laid a political foundation for future development of our relations." 

Cui Hongjian, a senior research fellow on European studies with CIIS, stated that the establishment of the new partnership shows the positive momentum behind China-Czech ties. Cui noted in the Beijing Times, a Chinese newspaper, that ahead of Xi's trip, the diplomatic circles of the two countries had had in-depth discussions about the up and down nature of bilateral ties in the past decades. They realized that proper repositioning could help guarantee bilateral relations develop on the right track. 

According to the joint statement, the two countries will strengthen people-to-people communication including increasing the number of students studying abroad and opening a direct flight between Shanghai and Prague, to be operated by China Eastern Airlines, in order to facilitate personnel exchanges.  

City- and province-level cooperation has already played an important role in the China-Czech relationship in the last two years. During Xi's visit, the cities of Beijing and Prague signed a deal to forge a sister city relationship. In fact, all 13 states that make up the Czech nation have set up cooperative ties with provinces and cities in China. 

Cui added that the frequent exchanges of visits have shown that China has gained a reliable friend in the CEE region. 

Copyedited by Mara Lee Durrell 

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