At the top of the program, we continue our coverage of President Xi Jinping's historic visit to the Czech Republic, the first by a Chinese president in more than 6 decades. [Special Coverage]
On Wednesday, at the China Czech economic and trade cooperation round-table, President Xi and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman witnessed the signing of a wide range of business deals, from automobiles to finance and aviation.
Just a day after China and the Czech Republic elevated their political & economic ties at the China-Czech economic and trade cooperation round-table on Wednesday, the two sides wasted no time in expanding cooperation in business.
Deals were signed between prominent business leaders from both sides in sectors ranging from energy and infrastructure to finance and telecommunications.
"The Czech Republic has become one of the countries with the most rapidly growing Chinese investments in the EU. And strides continue to be made in cooperation,"
"This would not have been possible without the efforts from companies from both countries. And I hope the entrepreneurs present here in our meeting today will fully utilize the opportunities available to them," said President Xi.
China-Czech relations have now been elevated to a strategic partnership. And this win-win cooperation, Czech Republic President Milos Zeman has said, will help the Central European nation become China's "entry gate" into the European Union.
And that is something that the Chinese leadership fully recognizes and appreciates.
"The Czech Republic is a very important country covered by the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative. The two countries face huge growth opportunities,"
"The two countries should enhance coordination in order to deal with global economic challenges. And the two should also utilize their respective strengths and promote cooperation within the '16+1' framework," said President Xi.
China is already the Czech Republic's largest trade partner outside the European Union while the Czech Republic has been the second biggest trade partner of China in the Central and Eastern Europe region.
And that already solid relationship, the two sides hope, will only become stronger than ever.
