Chinese premier concludes visit to Czech Republic

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday concluded a two-day official visit to the Czech Republic and left Prague for Portugal.

During his stay in Prague, the Chinese leader met with President Vaclav Klaus, Senate President Premysl Sobltka and Chamber of Deputies President Lubomir Zaoralek. He also held talks with Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek.

Wen and the Czech leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations and agreed that they should be further promoted.

Wen and Paroubek inked a joint declaration of the two governments, which covers a wide range of issues, including bilateral political relations, economic cooperation, Taiwan, human rights and terrorism.

"The two countries agreed to develop good relations within the framework of the China-Europe Union comprehensive strategic partnership and on the basis of the 1999 (Sino-Czech) joint communique," says the joint declaration.

The two countries agreed to shelve differences in political, economic and social perspectives and in basic values, and enhance mutual understanding through intensified dialogue and contacts.

They pledged to respect each other's choice of path of development and domestic and foreign policies in line with their own national conditions.

The Czech Republic stated that it will stick to the "one-China" policy and favors a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue through constructive dialogue. The Czech Republic is opposed to any acts that would lead to an escalation of tension across the Taiwan Straits or a change of Taiwan's status.

The two countries voiced support for a stronger United Nations and for UN reform. Both favor the democratization of international relations, respect of multilateralism and the diversification of cultures and development models, says the document.

The two premiers on Thursday night jointly met Czech business representatives. Wen said China is one of the safest and most attractive destinations for investment in the world.

In the following two years, China is expected to import goods worth 1 trillion US dollars and further open its services market, he said. China is also in a drive to develop its vast western regions and revitalize its old industrial bases in the northeast. These provide great opportunities for Czech businesses, he said.

There is a great potential for economic cooperation as the two economies are highly complementary to each other, he said.

The Chinese premier called for efforts from both governments and enterprises of both countries to push forward economic and trade cooperation.

The Czech Republic is the third leg of Wen's five-nation Eurasia tour, which has taken him to France and Slovakia. After the visit in Portugal, he will travel on to Malaysia.

Source: Xinhua