All-round politics and the Chinese reality: Why pragmatic diplomacy is a must for the Czech Republic

Who would have thought that editor Brodníčková from Novinek would advertise for me.

Thanks though.

If it is true that I "managed to tread the path to China" (as he writes) or at least improve the relations between the Czech Republic and China, damaged by the previous government (as I would say more modestly), I would consider it a success of my mandate.

China will be a key country in terms of economy and technology in the 21st century. At the same time, it is a great power that has not waged a single war in the last 50 years. I understand why Prime MinisterAndrej Babišor a colleagueFilip Turekthey are making efforts to maintain good relations with Donald Trump's USA. At the same time, let's be open to the other side as well, how he acts correctlyTomio Okamura - SPD, or my little thing. If the Czech Republic is to be a sovereign, successful country, it must not be dependent on a single partner, but must implement a "policy of all directions", as he rightly said at the timeMiloš Zeman - President of the Czech Republicand in today's turbulent world, this is doubly true.

After all, it is not only about China, but also other countries of the "global south", "the rest of the world", BRICS, or whatever name or label you wish to use. As an MEP, I am in the EP delegations for ASEAN, the Arabian Peninsula, China and Russia. During my tenure so far, I have met with more than twenty ambassadors from all over Asia, in Prague and Brussels, often repeatedly ((as you can read on my website in the so-called transparent register of meetings, which I fill according to regulations)). Almost forty embassies regularly attend my Brussels seminars. I always tell them: "The Czech Republic, the former Czechoslovakia, was never a colonial state, on the contrary, it always helped developing countries, and even today it can be a good partner for trade and cooperation." And they are happy. Respect for respect. I think it's not bad at all for the Czech Republic, and I certainly don't intend to neglect it for the remaining three years. Neither towards China nor towards other countries where opportunities may open up for our country.

Coming up tomorrow live in Eurojungle onTo be clear, as always at 8:00 p.m. I'm looking forward to it!

PS: The editor asked in an SMS whether I report my contacts with China to the secret services. I'm not sure if they understand the word "secret" well... but if I did, I certainly wouldn't report it to the newspaper. In ABJ, we will also look at the law that regulates the activities of intelligence services.