Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico paid an official visit to China, October 31-November 5.
He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 1.
Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Slovakia, Xi said that after three-quarters of a century of development, the traditional friendship between the two countries is full of vitality, and the cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
“We have decided to elevate China-Slovakia relations to a strategic partnership, which meets the future development needs of both countries and will inject new and powerful momentum into bilateral cooperation,” Xi said, adding that China is willing to work together with Slovakia to open a new chapter in bilateral relations and lift their ties to a higher level.
In order to expand pragmatic cooperation, Xi said the two countries should make good use of the newly established inter-governmental cooperation committee to strengthen synergy in new energy, transportation and logistics, infrastructure construction and water resources management. China encourages its enterprises to invest in Slovakia and welcomes Slovak enterprises to explore the market in China, he added.
Xi noted that the two countries need to strengthen international cooperation. In a complex and rapidly changing world, both sides should uphold true multilateralism, firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, embrace a vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
China attaches great importance to China-EU relations, Xi said, adding that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, and China-EU relations should demonstrate due maturity and stability.
The Chinese leader expressed the hope that the new EU institutions will adhere to the orientation of the China-EU partnership, adopt a positive and pragmatic approach, properly manage differences, and refrain from politicising economic and trade issues.
Fico said Slovakia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and recognises the government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government representing all of China. Slovakia opposes any interference in other countries’ internal affairs and advocates for respecting each country’s choice of development path.
Slovakia appreciates the three major global initiatives put forward by President Xi and is willing to strengthen exchanges with China on state governance experience and actively promote the EU’s commitment to handling differences through dialogue and consultations.
The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Xi expounded on China’s consistent principle and position, commending Slovakia for adopting an objective, rational and impartial stance. He welcomed Slovakia, as well as more like-minded countries, to play a positive role in promoting peace talks.
Fico met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang the same day.
Li said that both countries should give full play to the role of the joint economic committee and the science and technology cooperation committee and promote cooperation in various fields including the China-Europe Railway Express, connectivity, and infrastructure construction.
For his part, Fico mentioned that China’s development accomplishments in recent years have set an example for countries around the world. He said Slovakia supports the global initiatives proposed by China.
The prime minister added that Slovakia opposes the extra tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese electric vehicles, adding that the EU and China should seek a proper solution through dialogue and consultation. He said that Slovakia is willing to strengthen exchanges and coordination with China in international affairs to jointly tackle global challenges.
After their talks, Li and Fico witnessed the signing of multiple documents on bilateral cooperation in the fields of transportation, economy and trade, culture, tourism, and green and low-carbon development.
Also on November 1, Fico met with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.
Zhao said that China is ready to work with Slovakia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, consolidate the political foundation, expand the Belt and Road cooperation and China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and take China-Slovakia relations to a higher level.
China and Slovakia issued a detailed joint statement on their establishment of a strategic partnership.
It noted that: “The participants accept that they do not have any significant open questions or unresolved issues between them. Friendship and cooperation have always been the mainstream of the bilateral relations and are in line with the common and long-term interests of the two peoples.”
This year, China and Slovakia commemorate 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. China and Slovakia, a successor state of former Czechoslovakia, are ready to take the anniversary of their diplomatic relations as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, deepen political mutual trust, balanced and reciprocal relations, expand exchanges and cooperation in all fields and at all levels, and bring bilateral relations to a higher level.
China and Slovakia will advocate humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom, respect, protect and promote the human rights and basic freedoms of all people, and respect the independent choices made by the people of each country on the paths for the development of democracy and social and political systems that suit their national conditions, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
They will also strengthen cooperation on green development in such fields as new materials, new infrastructure, clean energy, and sustainable development. The participants are ready to extensively explore and cultivate cooperation opportunities in green technology, recycling, waste treatment and similar fields. The participants are ready to strengthen exchanges on CO₂ emission reduction technologies and work together on the diversification of energy resource supply, thereby enhancing energy security and promoting the transition to sustainable low-carbon energy sources such as solar, geothermal and wind power.
Slovakia supports and will actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. Slovakia is ready to actively participate in cooperation on the China-Europe Railway Express, improve transportation infrastructure, and facilitate the entry of Chinese companies and goods into the European market through Slovakia.
The two countries are ready to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in such fields as culture, education, scientific research, sports, academia, think tanks, film and television, media, tourism, security and law enforcement.
They are ready to strengthen cooperation in the cultural industry, support exchanges and mutual visits between artists and art groups of the two countries, support the hosting of art projects and exhibitions in each other’s countries, and encourage the translation, distribution, and promotion of each other’s literary works.
They are also ready to act on the spirit and principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, continue to have candid dialogue and exchanges on issues of common concern such as climate change, biodiversity, health care, and international security, and contribute to the promotion of inclusive growth, sustainable development, social equality and poverty eradication.
Fico also joined Premier Li Qiang at the November 5 opening in Shanghai of the Seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE), along with a number of other foreign leaders, including the prime ministers of Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Serbia.
Fico returned to office for his fourth term of office as Slovakia’s Prime Minister in October 2023, leading a three-party coalition government headed by his Smer-SD (Direction-Slovak Social Democracy) party.
As he began his China visit, the Global Times reported:
“Fico’s visit to China holds significant and positive political implications. Over the past few years, he has adopted a pragmatic and friendly approach toward China, making Slovakia-China cooperation in strategic level a model among central European nations, Zhao Junjie, senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.
“Fico had originally planned to visit China in June but had to postpone due to injuries he sustained from an assassination attempt in May, Slovak news website Hnonline.sk reported.”
As Fico moved to form his government, the “Socialists and Democrats” group in the European Parliament threatened to expel his party on account of its opposition to NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine and its support for peace.
The Morning Star reported: “But Mr Fico said… he expected ‘congratulations, not threats’ for coming first in the vote and added: ‘If our exclusion from the international party is to be a price for pursuing a genuine left-wing agenda in Slovakia and voicing sovereign opinions, we are prepared to pay such a price.’”
Imperialism’s hostility to Fico’s progressive agenda is such that when he was seriously injured in the above-mentioned politically motivated assassination attempt in May 2024, even a supposedly respectable bourgeois house journal as the Financial Times as good as said that he ‘had it coming’, reporting under the headline, “How Slovakia’s toxic politics left PM fighting for his life”. We must presume that the Financial Times’ hacks somehow missed the irony that the toxicity was decidedly their own.
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Xi, Slovak PM meet in Beijing, agreeing to elevate ties
BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing on Friday.
Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Slovakia, Xi said that after three-quarters of a century of development, the traditional friendship between the two countries is full of vitality, and the cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
“We have decided to elevate China-Slovakia relations to a strategic partnership, which meets the future development needs of both countries and will inject new and powerful momentum into bilateral cooperation,” Xi said, adding that China is willing to work together with Slovakia to open a new chapter in bilateral relations and lift their ties to a higher level.
Xi said the two countries need to deepen political mutual trust, calling on both sides to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, adhere to mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and accommodate each other’s core interests and major concerns.
In order to expand pragmatic cooperation, Xi said the two countries should make good use of the newly established inter-governmental cooperation committee to strengthen synergy in new energy, transportation and logistics, infrastructure construction and water resources management. China encourages its enterprises to invest in Slovakia and welcomes Slovak enterprises to explore the market in China, he said.
Xi said the two countries should promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He called on both sides to carry out communication and dialogue among political parties, local governments, youth, think tanks, and the media, and make good use of platforms such as the Confucius Institutes to consolidate the foundation of public opinion for China-Slovakia friendship across generations.
China has decided to grant 15-day visa-free entry to Slovak citizens, Xi added.
Xi noted that the two countries need to strengthen international cooperation. In a complex and rapidly changing world, Xi said, both sides should uphold true multilateralism, firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, embrace a vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
China attaches great importance to China-EU relations, Xi said, adding that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, and China-EU relations should demonstrate due maturity and stability.
Xi expressed the hope that the new EU institutions will adhere to the orientation of the China-EU partnership, adopt a positive and pragmatic approach, properly manage differences, and refrain from politicizing economic and trade issues.
Fico said Slovakia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and recognizes the government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government representing all of China. Slovakia opposes any interference in other countries’ internal affairs and advocates for respecting each country’s choice of development path.
Slovakia appreciates China’s decision to grant Slovak citizens the 15-day visa-free treatment, Fico said. Slovakia supports facilitating people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in the country and strengthen cooperation in areas such as new energy and infrastructure, he added.
Slovakia appreciates the three major global initiatives put forward by President Xi, and is willing to strengthen exchanges with China on state governance experience and actively promote the EU’s commitment to handling differences through dialogue and consultations, Fico said.
The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. Xi expounded on China’s consistent principle and position, commending Slovakia for adopting an objective, rational and impartial stance. He welcomed Slovakia, as well as more like-minded countries, to play a positive role in promoting peace talks.
Fico stated that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is fair, objective and constructive. Slovakia is willing to join the group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine crisis and work with China to contribute to the political settlement of the crisis.
Following the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement on the establishment of a strategic partnership.
Chinese premier holds talks with Slovak PM
BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with visiting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing on Friday.
Noting that Slovakia is one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with China, Li said that over the past 75 years, China-Slovakia relations have developed in a healthy and stable manner. The two sides enjoy mutual respect, equality and friendly cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples, he added.
China is willing to maintain high-level political mutual trust with the Slovak side, Li noted, saying that the two sides should expand cooperation led by the high-quality Belt and Road development.
Li said that both countries should give full play to the role of the joint economic committee and the science and technology cooperation committee, and promote cooperation in fields including China-Europe Railway Express, connectivity, and infrastructure construction.
The two sides should further expand bilateral trade volume, and explore the cooperation potential in emerging industries such as digital economy and green economy, to jointly foster new economic drivers for both countries, said Li.
China and Slovakia should make joint efforts to provide a better business environment for enterprises in each other’s countries, said the premier. He noted that both sides should continue to improve exchanges in cultural tourism, science, education, sports, media, youth, and other areas of people-to-people exchanges, and promote the establishment of cultural centers in each other’s countries to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.
For his side, Fico mentioned that China’s development accomplishments in recent years have set an example for countries around the world. He said Slovakia supports the global initiatives proposed by China.
Slovakia firmly abides by the one-China policy, and recognizes that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, said Fico.
The prime minister said that Slovakia opposes the extra tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese electric vehicles, adding that the EU and China should seek a proper solution through dialogue and consultation. He said that Slovakia is willing to strengthen exchanges and coordination with China in international affairs to jointly tackle global challenges.
After their talks, Li and Fico witnessed the signing of multiple documents on bilateral cooperation in the fields of transportation, economy and trade, culture, tourism, and green and low-carbon development.
China’s top legislator meets Slovak PM
BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — China’s top legislator Zhao Leji met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing on Friday.
Zhao, chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Slovakia 75 years ago, bilateral relations have been developing steadily and the traditional friendship has been strengthened.
He said China is ready to work with Slovakia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, consolidate the political foundation, expand the Belt and Road cooperation and China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and take China-Slovakia relations to a higher level.
Zhao added that the NPC of China is willing to deepen exchanges at all levels and in all fields with the National Council of Slovakia, strengthen exchanges of governance experience, and provide policy support and legal guarantee for bilateral practical cooperation.
Fico said Slovakia attaches great importance to developing relations with China, adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to further enhance bilateral cooperation, promote exchanges between legislative bodies, serve the development of both sides and benefit the two peoples.
Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Slovak Republic on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership
Nov. 1 (MFA) — From 31st October to 5th November, 2024, Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, paid an official visit to the People´s Republic of China. During the visit, Prime Minister Robert Fico met with President Xi Jinping, held talks with Premier Li Qiang, and met with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji.
China and Slovakia (hereinafter referred to as the “Participants”) had in-depth exchange of views and reached broad consensus on their bilateral relations and exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual interest. The participants decided to establish a Chinese-Slovak strategic partnership.
The participants accept that they do not have any significant open questions or unresolved issues between them. Friendship and cooperation have always been the mainstream of the bilateral relations and are in line with the common and long-term interests of the two peoples. China and Slovakia have always been committed to the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, actively promoted high-level exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.
This year, China and Slovakia commemorate 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. China and Slovakia, a successor state of former Czechoslovakia, are ready to take the anniversary of their diplomatic relations as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, deepen political mutual trust, balanced and reciprocal relations, expand exchanges and cooperation in all fields and at all levels, and bring bilateral relations to a higher level.
1.Political Domain
1.1. The participants recognize the importance of maintaining balanced and reciprocal relations, its continuity and consistency based on bilateral and the China-EU relations.
1.2. The participants are committed to strengthening high-level exchanges, and promoting exchanges and mutual visits between the governments, legislative bodies, localities, political parties of the two countries, as well as on the non-governmental and people-to-people basis, so that they will stay in close communication and step-up dialogue and cooperation on bilateral relations and other issues of common interest.
1.3. In order to develop and deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries, the participants will establish an inter-governmental strategic dialogue mechanism to make plans for the future development of bilateral relations. To this end, the participants decide to establish an intergovernmental cooperation committee between the People’s Republic of China and the Slovak Republic (at the level of Foreign Minister or Vice Foreign Minister). According to the arrangement between the two sides, committee meetings will be held alternately in China and Slovakia at flexible intervals.
1.4. The participants reaffirmed their commitment to respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Slovakia reaffirmed its firm commitment to the one-China policy, that there is but one China in the world, and that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Slovakia opposes any attempts to interfere in China´s internal affairs, sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Taiwan.
1.5. The participants will advocate humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom, respect, protect and promote the human rights and basic freedoms of all people, and respect the independent choices made by the people of each country on the paths for the development of democracy and social and political systems that suit their national conditions, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
The participants firmly oppose the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights issues, and firmly oppose any country interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of democracy and human rights.
1.6. The participants agree to build the bilateral agenda in coordination and based on the objectives set by the China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation.
The participants recognize that China and the European Union (EU) are both important players on the international stage and are important partners in addressing global challenges. The participants will continue deepening the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, acknowledging the complementarity of the Chinese-Slovak strategic partnership to it. The participants support promoting China-EU dialogue, exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and search possibilities of interaction between the Belt and Road Initiative and the EU’s Global Gateway.
2. Economic Domain
2.1. The participants welcome the steady growth of bilateral trade in recent years and are ready to further improve the trade structure, enrich the variety of products, expand trade, and promote balanced development of trade. China welcomes Slovakia’s active participation in trade promotion platforms such as the China International Import Expo and supports more high-quality Slovak agricultural and food products in entering the Chinese market.
2.2. The participants are ready to further deepen economic, trade and investment cooperation, and work to widen market access for each other’s products, and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises of the two sides.
China appreciates Slovakia’s active engagement in investment platforms like the China International Fair for Investment and Trade. Furthermore, Slovakia welcomes investments and operations from Chinese companies within its borders. China’s support for Slovak investments and joint ventures in China is further boosting economic cooperation between the two nations.
2.3. The participants stress the importance of the Joint Economic Committee and the Science and Technology Cooperation Committee as platforms for promoting cooperation on trade, innovation and research and development, and are ready to further strengthen policy dialogue in the fields of economy, trade and science and human-centric technology development and deployment, and provide support for cooperation between enterprises, chambers of commerce and industry associations of the two countries.
2.4. The participants will strengthen cooperation on green development in such fields as new materials, new infrastructure, clean energy, and sustainable development. The participants are ready to extensively explore and cultivate cooperation opportunities in green technology, recycling, waste treatment and other such fields. The participants are ready to strengthen exchanges on CO₂ emission reduction technologies and work together on the diversification of energy resource supply, thereby enhancing energy security and promoting the transition to sustainable low-carbon energy sources such as solar, vehicles, geothermal and wind power. The governments, research institutions, universities, private enterprises of the two countries will actively participate in the above-mentioned cooperation.
2.5. The participants are ready to make full use of various economic and trade cooperation mechanisms and capacity-building projects to strengthen exchanges and cooperation on standards and conformity assessment, promote mutual recognition of standards and certification results of foreign trade products, improve conformity assessment procedures for import and export processes, and avoid repeated inspection and testing. In doing so, trade facilitation and liberalization will be continuously enhanced with costs lowered for both sides.
2.6. Slovakia supports and will actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. Slovakia is ready to actively participate in cooperation on China-Europe Railway Express, improve transportation infrastructure, and facilitate the entry of Chinese companies and goods into the European market through Slovakia.
2.7. The participants accept that cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) is a useful complement to China-EU relations and China-Slovakia bilateral relations and are ready to jointly work for new progress in China-CEEC cooperation. China supports Slovakia in hosting the Sixth China-CEEC Innovation Cooperation Conference in Slovakia and playing a more important role within the mechanism.
3. People-to-People and Cultural Domain
3.1. The participants are ready to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in such fields as culture, education, scientific research, sports, academia, think tanks, film and television, media, tourism, security and law enforcement.
3.2. The participants are ready to strengthen cooperation in the cultural industry, support exchanges and mutual visits between artists and art groups of the two countries, support the hosting of art projects and exhibitions in each other’s countries, and encourage the translation, distribution, and promotion of each other’s literary works.
3.3. The participants attach great importance to education and exchanges on language and culture, encourage schools from both sides to carry out Chinese and Slovak language teaching, strengthen language teacher exchanges, support young people in studying in each other’s countries, and promote friendly exchanges between the youth of the two countries. Slovakia will promote Chinese studies and cultural activities, for example within the Confucius Institutes in Slovakia.
3.4. The important tool for promoting culture and education between official institutions of China and Slovakia is Cooperation Program in the area of Culture and Cooperation Program in the area of Education.
3.5. The participants are ready to strengthen the existing cooperative partnership between the two countries’ academies of sciences and other national-level scientific research institutions, promote cooperation and joint scientific research projects between research institutions in materials science, information technology, biomedicine, health care, environmental science, social science, and other related fields, and strengthen academic exchanges in accordance with national R&D priorities.
3.6. The participants are ready to deepen subnational exchanges and cooperation, promote the development of sister cities, and support the role of the Sino-Czecho-Slovak Friendship Farm in Cangzhou.
4. International Domain
4.1. The participants advocate practicing multilateralism and upholding the international system with the United Nations (U.N.) at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. Both sides are ready to continue to strengthen cooperation in the U.N. and other international organizations in areas of mutual interest, defend international fairness and justice.
4.2. In accordance with the principles of the U.N. Charter and the agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the participants commit to developing free trade and global economic partnership, upholding the rules-based multilateral trading system in accordance with the WTO Agreements, building an open, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory trade environment, and making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.
4.3. Slovakia is ready to discuss and exchange the views on Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China and takes note of Chinese proposal on promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
4.4. The participants are ready to act on the spirit and principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, continue to have candid dialogue and exchanges on issues of common concern such as climate change, biodiversity, health care, and international security, and contribute to the promotion of inclusive growth, sustainable development, social equality and poverty eradication.
