Press Advisories
17. 6. 201623:45
Prime Minister Sobotka meets with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang
On the second day of his working visit to the Chinese People’s Republic, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka met the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. This was the second meeting of the two Prime Ministers within 7 months, which confirms the special quality of our bilateral relations. During the second day of the working visit Prime Minister Sobotka also visited the Czech Pavilion at a business fair, held talks with the management of the Ershang food company and had a further meeting with the Mayor of Beijing.
The meeting of the two Prime Ministers, joined also by Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Michaela Marksová, focused on the development of the strategic partnership concluded in the spring of this year.
“During the talks we spoke mainly of simplifying the access of Czech companies to the Chinese market, including certification of Czech products and gaining access to Chinese e-commerce platforms to Czech exporters, of the arrival of Chinese investors in the Czech Republic and collaboration between our countries in nuclear energy", Prime Minister Sobotka said to summarise the talks.
Further to the involvement of the Czech Prime Minister as principal guest at two on-going sessions of the 16+1 platform and the active role being played by the Czech Republic in this grouping, Bohuslav Sobotka expressed the desire of the Czech side to play host to one of the upcoming Prime Ministerial summits of the 16+1 countries. <0} Both Prime Ministers also acknowledged further deepening of bilateral collaboration in the food sector, aviation and the finance sector in line with the long-term priority of the current government to make out of the Czech Republic a regional transport and logistics hub and financial centre for Chinese financial institutions in Central Europe.
As part of his official programme Prime Minister Sobotka also visited the Czech Pavilion at a business fair taking place on the fringes of a meeting of regional leaders in Tangshan. Here the Czech Republic is represented by 34 exhibitors from 8 regions of the country.
At the Czech Pavilion, five agreements or Memoranda were signed in various areas, in the presence of the Czech Prime Minister:
- An Agreement on establishing friendly relations between the Hebei Province in the Chinese People’s Republic and the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic.
- A Memorandum on Strategic Collaboration between the town of Cangzhou in the People’s Republic and the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic.
- Accession of the Karlovy Vary Region to the Association of Provincial Governors of the Chinese People’s Republic and the Regions of SVE countries.
- An Agreement between Thermal Pasohlávky and the Risesun Company on investment in the Pasohlávky spa.
- An Agreement between Skyleader and the Cangzhou Zhongjie Airport Airport on the sale of Skyleader shares.
In connection with the inter-governmental agreement and the continually growing role of the food industry sector in trade cooperation between the two countries, Prime Minister Sobotka accepted an invitation from the management of the Ershang food company to hold brief talks at the company. In the presence of the Prime Minister a Strategic Cooperation Contract was signed between Madeta a.s. and Beijing Ershang Group Ltd, which is the fourth largest food company in China. The contract deals with export of Czech long-life and dried milk to the Chinese market to the value of CZK 100 million.
At the end of the second day of his trip the Prime Minister met the Mayor of Beijing and discussed not only economic cooperation, but also cultural and technology ties. A major topic of collaboration is sport, particularly in connection with the organising of the Winter Olympic Games in China in 2022.