Czech president-elect Pavel (pictured right) and President Tsai Ing-wen held a teleconference, and Taiwan-Czech relations warmed up.

(File photo, Reuters; synthesized by this newspaper)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] Czech President-elect Petr Pavel (Petr Pavel) and President Tsai Ing-wen held a teleconference on January 30. Taiwan-Czech relations have warmed up, and China is angry and unable to stop the global wave of anti-China.

According to David Gardas, a sinologist based in Prague, Czech President Miloš Zeman has vigorously promoted economic diplomacy with China since he took office in early 2013, and praised China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative as the most important project in modern Czech history.

Now, with the new President Pavel taking office, China may not have so much room to participate in Czech politics, and the importance of the Belt and Road is gone.

China's spending money to infiltrate the Czech central bank is not immune

Gardas said that in order to win over Beijing, the current president of the Czech Republic, Ziman, held several China investment forums in Prague. Ziman even hired a Chinese consultant, that is, Ye Jianming, chairman of China CEFC Energy (CEFC).

In the Czech Republic, CEFC's investments include SK Slavia Prague Football Club, Lobkowicz Brewery and high-quality real estate in Prague.

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Gardas continued that the Czech management of the European subsidiary of China CEFC Energy has shown another piece of the China-Czech friendship puzzle. Its chairman Jaroslav Tvrdík is the former Minister of Defense and the richest company in the Czech Republic, PPF and its financial subsidiary Home Credit. (HC)'s chief lobbyist.

Gardas bluntly said that in addition to the notorious story of China CEFC Energy, the Czech media also kicked the infiltration of gold flow from China.

In 2018, two Chinese state-owned banks, Bank of China (BOC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), lent more than €56 million to Czech agricultural giant Agrofert.

Because of this investment case, President Ziman was also accused of treason, and the EGFR Group also came forward to refute the relevant allegations.

Another overlooked financial activity involved the Czech central bank.

Gardas said that when Ziman brought in Jiří Rusnok as president of the Czech central bank (CNB), the institution significantly increased its exposure to yuan-denominated bonds.

The Czech central bank purchased nearly 27.5 billion Czech crowns (approximately NT$37.7 billion) worth of Chinese government bonds in the second half of 2021, an increase of more than 100%.

Sinopsis, a Czech think tank, bluntly stated that this move exposes the Czech Republic to many risks.

Observers have speculated that the purchase may be related to Vladimír Tomšík, the former vice-president of the Czech central bank, who has been the Czech ambassador to China since May 2019.

The Czech central bank's pro-China performance is also evident in current central bank governor Aleš Michl, who has previously said that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB, or AIIB) could be "an interesting investment option".

The AIIB is one of the main investment drivers of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Through the AIIB, the Chinese Communist Party uses geoeconomic means to expand its influence.

The New President's Anti-China Belt and Road Prospects Are Frustrating

After the new President Pavel took office, will Czech-China relations cool down?

Gardas believes that Pavel has long resisted China, advocated being tough on Russia and China, supported continued military aid to Ukraine, and has a similar position to Prime Minister Fiala.

Although he does not see China as a direct military threat, by reflecting on China's increasing interference in the international order and technology, finance and economics have become one of China's sources of influence, even to the point of indiscrimination.

Gardas believes that China may not have so much room to participate in Czech politics in the future. The current President Ziman once praised the "Belt and Road" initiative as the most important project in modern Czech history. "This is gone forever."

As the Czech Republic chooses a new president for the next five years, the pro-Beijing policy embraced by current president Miloš Zeman is likely to come to a halt. #Chinahttps://t.co/qP4jLY34AH

— Global Voices (@globalvoices) January 31, 2023

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