Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that China is confident of building on Sino-Czech relations.
Wen said this during a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon.
Wen expressed the belief that as long as the two countries proceed from a long-term relations point of view and join efforts to develop bilateral relations, they will surely achieve greater and quicker progress in this regard.
He also expressed the wish that the two countries should maintain the current momentum of high-level visits, encourage their own companies to have direct contact and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in such fields as trade, investment and environmental protection. The two countries should strengthen exchanges in culture and other areas so as to deepen mutual understanding and friendship, Wen added.
Paroubek said the Czech Republic is ready to strengthen high-level communications with China and continue to expand cooperation with China in areas of trade, economy, investment, power, and automobile manufacturing. He said his country also wishes to enhance bilateral exchanges with China on culture and sports.
Wen also expressed his appreciation for the Czech government's adherence to the one-China policy and its opposition to "Taiwan independence".
Paroubek said the Czech government holds a clear-cut stance on the Taiwan issue. It has always regarded the Taiwan issue as part of China's internal affairs.
Wen said Sino-Czech relations have had sound momentum over the past few years. Czech President Vaclav Klaus' visit to China last year and Paroubek's current visit have shown that the Czech Republic places importance on developing relations with China. The visits have deepened political trust between the two countries.
Paroubek arrived in Beijing on Saturday as a guest of Premier Wen. During his visit, he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2005)
