Czech president reiterates country's one-China policy

PRAGUE -- Czech President Milos Zeman on Tuesday reiterated that the Czech Republic's adherence to the one-China policy will not change.

The president made the pledge in a congratulatory letter to the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic, which is holding an online reception to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"The Czech Republic will continue to pursue the one-China policy. This is a long-term commitment to Czech-China relations," he said in the letter.

Expressing his gratitude to China for extending a helping hand to the Czech Republic during the pandemic this spring, he noted that the two countries have potential for cooperation in many fields like healthcare and digital economy.

"I firmly believe that we will soon overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and resume previous exchanges and cooperation in the fields of trade and tourism (including direct flights)," the president added.

Zhang Jianmin, Chinese ambassador to the Czech Republic, said that in 2020, China and the Czech Republic joined hands in fighting the pandemic, supporting and helping each other.

"We sincerely hope that the two sides can maintain solidarity and cooperation in more areas," Zhang said.

Also on Tuesday, the Czech Republic's highest constitutional officials gathered for a meeting, during which they also reiterated the one-China policy in the country's foreign policy, according to a press release by the president's office.

"The Czech Republic is pursuing its one-China policy without change and insists on the standard diplomatic communication associated with it," said the release, adding that the development of relations with China in accordance with the 2016 Declaration on Strategic Partnership is in the interest of the Czech Republic.

The meeting, hosted by President Zeman, was attended by Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondracek, Prime Minister Andrej Babis and other major cabinet ministers.

To mark the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic has prepared films introducing China and organized the "Chinese Embassy Cup" Short Video Contest to show videos taken by Czech netizens about China and China-Czech friendship.