China will increase cooperation with the Czech Republic in industry, medicine and finance, Premier Li Keqiang said on Nov 27 in Beijing while meeting with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

The Sino-Czech relationship is gaining momentum, and China is willing to cooperate on the basis of mutual trust and respect, Li said.

China would like to link its development strategy with the Czech Republic and enhance cooperation in areas including iron and steel, the auto industry, and machinery, the Premier said.

The Czech Prime Minister was paying his first official visit to China after attending the Fourth Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The two countries should use big data to keep their technologies up-to-date, and deepen cooperation in science, Li said.

China hopes to broaden investment and financial cooperation with the Czech Republic under the “16+1” framework proposed during the summit, Li added.

The Premier said that both sides should also enhance cooperation in areas including medicine, sports and tourism.

Prime Minister Sobotka congratulated China’s successful hosting of the summit, saying that the “16+1” mechanism is an important platform to improve Czech-China ties.

The Czech government would like to enhance cooperation with China in industry and high-tech research, Sobotka said, proposing a joint fund to provide financial support for companies.

The Czech Republic hopes to deepen cooperation in nuclear energy, health, investment and finance, Sobotka said.

After the meeting, Li Bin, minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and Svatopluk Němecek, Czech health minister signed a joint communiqué on supporting Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Czech Republic.