Press Advisories

12. 4. 201917:45

Prime Minister attended the Summit of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European Countries and China in Dubrovnik

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš attended the Summit of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and the People’s Republic of China in Dubrovnik on 11 and 12 April 2019. He primarily discussed cooperation in trade and investment, transport, infrastructure, industry and culture. He also met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev.

On Thursday, 11 April 2019, the Prime Minister and the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang held bilateral talks. They talked mainly about mutual economic cooperation and joint activities planned by both countries in 2019. Another topic, for example, was civil aviation, which is one of the priorities of Czech-Chinese economic cooperation.

At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of a favourable investment and business environment for Czech entrepreneurs and investors in China. He would like to accelerate the certification process for Czech export goods. However, within the framework of mutual trade, the Prime Minister still sees space for improvement. Andrej Babiš invited the Chinese Prime Minister to visit Prague and gave him an official invitation.

“Last time we met a year ago, and our mutual business relationship has developed mainly in favour of China. While Chinese exports to the Czech Republic are skyrocketing – China has increased sales by USD 6 billion between 2017 and 2018, our exports have increased by just USD 160 million. And I don't like that. I learned that Chinese companies are investing here. They built a bridge very quickly. They are also active in Hungary. I told the Prime Minister that we would like them to participate in our PPP projects, such as the Prague-Tábor motorway. That would help us. At the same time, I reminded the Prime Minister that for three years we have had a strategic cooperation at the level of presidents. However, the Ministerial Intergovernmental Committee has not met even once. I asked him to ensure they meet before his visit to Prague”, said Andrej Babiš.

On Friday, 12 April, the eighth summit of the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European Summit with the People’s Republic of China took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Andrej Babiš and other statesmen discussed mutual cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, infrastructure, transport and logistics, energy, industry, culture, education and tourism.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister confirmed the Czech Republic’s ambition to become a transport hub connecting Central and Eastern Europe with China. According to the Prime Minister, the Czech Republic supports the openness of this cooperation format. Greece has joined the meeting this year.

“Of the countries that are here, we probably have the most initiatives, the most specific things. We have a great lead in airline connections and this is of course the basis for tourism, business and overall relationships, but in export we have to look at bottlenecks. The biggest success we have had so far is in direct flights. We already have 4 airlines and the fifth one, Prague - Shenzhen, opens on 1 July. The growth of tourists from China is great, because in 2018 we received 620,000 Chinese tourists, an increase of 130,000”, said the Prime Minister after the meeting.

In Dubrovnik, Andrej Babiš also spoke with Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev. In particular, they talked about the situation on the Macedonian border, where Czech policemen help to protect it against the onslaught of refugees. The topic was also the accession of Northern Macedonia to the European Union, which the country has been waiting for 14 years. The Prime Minister has promised his support.

The Prime Minister also met with Czech entrepreneurs, and agreed on the need to end the struggles between ministries and agencies. Czech entrepreneurs attended the economic and business forum. According to Andrej Babiš, this is an opportunity for Czech companies to establish new business contacts. Czech companies have signed agreements with Chinese companies on wastewater treatment plants and aviation.