Yang Di/Shanghai Daily news

Milan Hupcej's obsession with China began early in 1994 when he took up the position as the Deputy Head of Mission at the Czech Republic Embassy in Beijing. Since he was again posted to China as Consul General of the Czech Republic in Shanghai January, 2004, Hupcej has taken great pride in promoting the Czech Republic in China.
Traditionally close friends, the Czech Republic and China were among the first to recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations.
Hupcej feels the strong bilateral relationship has been particularly dynamic over the last five years. The two countries have maintained high-levels of exchanges and visits.
"President Vaclav Klaus visited China last April. It was a turning point in our exchanges and cooperation since then has increased dramatically," Hupcej said. "Development in the future has enormous potential."
The Consulate General issued 1,500 visas last year demonstrating the interest that people from the Yangtze Delta area have in visiting, trading with and learning more about the Czech Republic. This year, the number of visas is already approaching 2,000.
The Czech capital, Prague, has through the centuries acquired an unrivalled wealth of architectural treasures earning it a place on UNESCO's world culture heritage list. However, the Czech Republic has much more to offer than just the beauties of its capital.
As a fully fledged member of the European Union, the Czech Republic has granted Approved Destination Status for Chinese tourists last year.
"The main setback for us is the absence of a direct flight from China to the Czech Republic. Another problem which some people take into consideration is that our country isn't currently part of the schengen system," Hupcej said.
He is excited that the Czech Republic is scheduled to join the Schengen system during the year of 2007. "This September, the Czech Minister of Transportation discussed with Chinese leaders the possibility of establishing direct flights and there are promising developments on this front."
"We are preparing quite a big 'roadshow' in ten Chinese cities after the Spring Festival, which will provide the opportunity to experience the many faces of the Czech Republic including cuisine, crafts, music, arts and typical Czech products," he continued.
To further promote the Czech Republic as an attractive tourist destination, the Czech tourism authority, CzechTourism, is planning to set up a Beijing office in November.
On trade and economic relations, China is an important trading partner for the Czech Republic. Statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce show that the trade volume of the two countries in 2004 reached US$1.8 billion, up 13.6 percent on a year-on-year basis. The Czech Republic is now China's third largest trading partner in the central part of Eastern Europe, falling behind Hungary and Poland.
The Czech Republic is a stable, reliable supplier of high quality machinery, transport equipment and components for the electronics sector that China needs for continued economic growth and development. Traditionally, China exports textiles, electronic parts, toys and foodstuff to the Czech Republic.
The Yangtze Delta is central to China's economy and a major gateway for foreign trade and investment. Nearly 30 percent of bilateral trade volume originates from this region.
"We are looking into the possibilities of introducing more business people and not only to Beijing and Shanghai. One of our ideas is that Czech investment should be focused in East China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang," said Hupcej.
The Czech Republic is famed for its transport engineering. The Czech automobile producer Skoda is going to open a factory in Shanghai by the end of next year. Another Czech engineering company Vitkovice is currently in negotiations with a Shanghainese partner to produce crankshafts for shipbuilding facilities.
"The Czech Republic has a rich and diverse culture with distinct art, music and literature. Our two sides need to strengthen cultural cooperation and exchange. I would like the music of Dvoak, Smetana, Janacek and Martina the world famos Czech composers to be playted more in China,'' said the consul general.
"This year, we had an exhibition of the Czech painter Frantisek Kupka in Beijing which featured more than a hundred original paintings. It was by far the biggest Czech exhibition in China ever," he added.
Hupcej is confident that such events will create a new momentum in understanding and cooperation between Chinese and Czech business people and artists.