Name: Martin Siler, President, China Czech Organization

Title:  The New Silk Road Opens Door for Cooperation

Abstract:

The city of Xi’an and Shaanxi province were, are and will be one of the most outstanding parts of the Silk Road. The current leadership of China headed by President Xi Jinping, significantly stresses the importance of the Silk Road project. This is very clear once one reads his book The Governance of China. Our company China Czech Organization has the honor to bring this book to the Czech market.

The new Silk Road is based on two initiatives: 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and Silk Road Economic Belt, known as the Belt and Road, and it represents a new phase of the Chinese Foreign Policy toward Europe, Asia and Africa.

During the first historic visit of Czech President Miloš Zeman in China in 2014, I was personally present to his speech where he said the cooperation of Czech and Chinese aircraft industry is the base for the new Silk Road in the air.

These three business roads — earth, water and the air — are the base for an active exchange of goods, knowledge and human understanding between the nations. The recent visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Czech Republic accelerated our mutual relations to a historically top level and we become the gateway to Europe for China.

The Belt and Road Initiative primarily leads to a strengthening new logistic path. There are many big logistic and infrastructure projects interesting for the Chinese companies in Czechia, being it the construction of speed train railroad connecting Prague with Brno, or the plan to create a waterway along the Danube–Odra–Elbe.

Development of the Silk Road, growing Chinese cities and their mutual linkage can bring opportunities for Czech companies in the area of air transport. 130 more airports shall appear in China until 2020. Being the producer of small-size aircrafts or civil systems, Czech boasts some advanced technologies that are in high demand in China. The Czech aircraft industry provides an opportunity to directly use the Belt and Road Initiative for bigger involvement of both parties. Sichuan Province, which is a key province in China for the development of the air industry, is at the same time one of those that are to benefit the most from the Belt and Road Initiative in its economic growth.

The Belt and Road Initiative plans to cover the implementation of projects directed at protection of the environment. Currently, the environmental sector represents one of the most interesting and rapidly growing areas for investments in China. Many Czech companies have a unique know-how in the area of diminishing air and water pollution, or cleaning heavily polluted areas. There is a high demand for these technologies in China and already many such technologies help to solve the environmental issues in China.

The Silk Road opens door for cooperation in the sphere of high technologies. The Technological Agency of the Czech Republic has taken the first steps in this area by launching a number of joint innovative projects with partners from Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Zhejiang provinces. This type of partnership, however, is only in its very start.

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