The Prime Minister meets with leading businessmen from the province of Zhejiang

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka meets with leading businessmen and officials from the province of Zhejiang. Discussed topics include regional cooperation, business and investment opportunities and support for tourism.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka devoted the second to last day of his business trip to the People's Republic of China to support for trade and investments from one of the most economically developed provinces in China. Sobotka and the province’s governor Zhejiang discussed cooperation between the province and its partnering Czech region, the Plzeň Region, as well as opportunities for trade and investment and further development of tourism.

The province of Zhejiang has prepared a three-year project, during which each year 1,000 tourists from China visit the Czech Republic. In May of this year, a visa centre for the Czech Republic was opened in the province. There are currently eight locations where Chinese tourists can apply for visas to visit the Czech Republic. This year a total of 45,000 visas are expected to be issued to Chinese tourists wishing to visit the Czech Republic, and their number will also be influenced by the boosting of air links between both countries.

Before noon, Prime Minister Sobotka also met with 15 leading businessmen from the province of Zhejiang, with whom he discussed further opportunities for cooperation between Czech and Chinese companies. At the end of the meeting, several memoranda were signed regarding various topics.

List of signed memoranda:

• The Memorandum on Cooperation between the province of Zhejiang and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (a memorandum on expansion of economic cooperation between the Czech Republic and the province of Zhejiang in the areas of e-commerce, aviation, industrial parks, etc.)
• The Memorandum on Cooperation between the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic and the province of Zhejiang
• The Memorandum on Cooperation between the CzechInvest Agency and Wanfeng Auto Holding (a memorandum on a planned investment of $30 million into a research centre in the Czech Republic focused on aviation
• The Memorandum on Cooperation between the CzechTrade Agency and Wanfeng Auto Holding  (a memorandum on a planned investment from Wenfeng into the Czech aviation industry totalling $ 100 million and development of joint aviation projects in the Czech Republic and China).
• The Memorandum on Cooperation between Empressa Media and Zhejiang Radio and TV Group
• The Memorandum of Understanding between Alibaba and CzechTrade on joint organisation of a Czech sales event on the Juhuasuan portal (a memorandum on organisation of a sales event on the Juhuasuan portal (Alibaba) focused solely on Czech products, which will last 2-3 days, at the beginning of August 2016)                                                        

At the conclusion of his visit, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka will hold discussion with Mrs Liou Jen-tung, Deputy Chairwoman of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. After the meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vice-Premier for Economics Ma Kai, this will be the Czech Prime Minister’s third meeting with senior Chinese officials.