Jiří Paroubek, an economist, former Czech Prime Minister and Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party, described the trade relations between the Czech Republic and China as unbalanced, but at the same time he stressed that their development is mostly influenced by the political situation in the Czech Republic. He said that while developments in China are stable and predictable, the Czech approach is changing „in sinusoids“.

Paroubek said that he did not see the large trade imbalance as a tragedy, among other things in view of the possible impact of international conflicts on the world economy. He recalled that Chinese goods are important for low- and middle-income groups, which may be burdened by inflation and rising energy and food prices. „The cheap quality consumer goods from China have a point,“ uvedl.

In his speech he also returned to the time when he was the head of the Czech government. He recalled that at that time he and his economic advisor Valter Komárek wanted to develop closer cooperation with China and to build on it by bringing Chinese investment to the Czech Republic. According to him, negotiations and agreements were successfully initiated, but further development was stifled by the change in the country's political leadership after the elections.

According to Paroubek, the Czech Republic could have benefited more from closer cooperation with China if it had managed to maintain its previous course. At the same time, he warned that the future government would also face domestic political pressures and ideological disputes in developing relations with China. He therefore called for a pragmatic approach and described China as a stable and predictable partner.

In conclusion, Paroubek said that he also considers the Chinese model of development attractive. „It is a combination of market economics, planned development or strategic planning, and social justice,“ He said. According to him, this is the reason why this model is attractive especially for a part of the developing world.

CMG