Vojtech Filip, deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Prague, the Czech Republic, June 6, 2019. The China-U.S. trade tensions will not affect Czech companies' willingness to cooperate with China, Vojtech Filip, deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, has said. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Filip said the Czech Republic and other European countries are closely watching the Trump administration's approach to China. (Xinhua/Martin Mach)
PRAGUE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The China-U.S. trade tensions will not affect Czech companies' willingness to cooperate with China, Vojtech Filip, deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, has said.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Filip said the Czech Republic and other European countries are closely watching the Trump administration's approach to China.
Whether through imposing tariffs or suppressing Chinese enterprises in the name of "national security risks," the United States is using every possible way to prevent China's economic development.
Filip, who is also leader of the Czech Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, has visited China several times.
He noted that the United States has always advocated "free markets," but the concept has been used to dictate how other countries should run their economies.
Taking Huawei's case as an example, Filip said that Washington not only made up all kinds of pretexts to suppress the company's development, but also asked other countries, including some in Europe, to do the same.
"Obviously, it doesn't work," he said.
Noting that negotiation is the best way to solve differences between countries, Filip said China-U.S. trade was an important impetus to the global economy, and the escalation of trade tensions between the two largest economies would surely have a negative impact on the world economically.
As for the Czech Republic, Filip said that Czech companies are still willing to cooperate with China. He suggested that the two countries should improve economic and trade cooperation and further increase trade.
He also noted that the Czech Republic and China could cooperate in projects in a third country.
China and the Czech Republic celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year. Over the past several years, the two countries have rapidly developed ties.
Bilateral trade volume reached 28.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, an increase of 25.4 percent year-on-year, according to Chinese data.
