In the evening of Thursday 23rd October President Miloš Zeman began his official state visit to China being invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping. During his stay President Zeman attended Czech-Chinese Entrepreneurial Forum and West-Chinese International Fair in Chengdu. During his speeches and negotiations there President Zeman mentioned several topics important for Czech business and Czech-Chinese relations. One of the expected topics was the introduction of direct airline connecting the Czech Republic and PRC. The line would connect Prague with Shanghai and could potentially bring thousands of Chinese tourists to the Czech Republic. President agreed on this with the Chinese side and the possibility of success of the negotiations is very high. However, the signature of the deal itself was left to sign to Prime Minister Sobotka on his upcoming visit to China as the technical details of the agreement itself are still being negotiated. President Zeman also spoke of negotiations on establishing Czech consulate in the Sichuan which would provide support for the Czech entrepreneurs there. He also expressed his wish that the Chinese citizens wouldn’t have to obtain visa when travelling with diplomatic passport. President further added that he was long-term advocate of visa waiver for all Chinese citiziens for the whole European Union. Furthermore, he added that he would welcome if the Bank of China introduced its branches, which are so far only in Hungary, also to the Czech Republic. Later he also met with the representatives of Bank of China. On Monday President Miloš Zeman is to meet with the highest-ranking Chinese officials including president Xi Jinping.

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