Czech president to skip Beijing summit over China ‘investment letdown’

Milos Zeman has long pushed for closer ties between the two countries but says the Chinese side has not lived up to its promises

Zeman’s absence leaves China without the support of one of its core backers among European leadership

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Czech President Milos Zeman will not be attending the “17+1” summit in Beijing in April. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:00pm, 13 Jan 2020Updated: 4:37pm, 17 Feb 2020

China’s lack of investment in central Europe has upset one of its staunchest supporters in the region, with the Czech president snubbing an invitation to attend a summit in Beijing in April.

Czech President Milos Zeman, a long-standing advocate of closer ties with China, voiced disappointment about Chinese investment on the weekend just as China was hoping to attract central and eastern European nations to the “17+1 summit”, an event to be chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I don’t think the Chinese side has done what it promised. I’m talking about investments. And that means that even though a prominent political figure will be there, it won’t be the president,” Czech newspaper Blesk quoted Zeman as saying. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek will attend in his place.

The comments also came as Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je arrived in Prague on Monday to sign a sister-city agreement with Prague officials, further straining Chinese-Czech ties.

Zeman’s absence from the Beijing summit leaves China without the support of one of its core backers among European leadership, dealing a blow to its vision to broadened cooperation with the European Union this year amid rivalry with the United States.

“This is a surprise move by Zeman, who is arguably the most important person driving the pro-China turn of the Czech Republic during the last few years,” said Richard Turcsanyi, director of Central European Institute of Asian Studies at Palacky University in the Czech Republic.