CZECH IT OUT! We (YAFA) went to the Czech Embassy
Dear YAFA members,
we arrived to our first station in our embassy visiting tour! On November 20. we visited Czech embassy. Our YAFA members group consisted of people from China, US, Germany, South Korea, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Chile.
Well, our day started very busy, we went through very quick lunch and crowded subway. On the way we got to know each other better and briefly started our interesting group discussion about Czech Republic.
Upon the arrival we received extremely warm welcome from Mr Wagner and Ms Kocourková from the Czech embassy, who provided for us interesting lecture as well as perfect place for the discussion.
The topic we have talked about was: The interaction of Czech Republic and China in trading and how China affects Czech Republic by it’s soft power.
Both parts of lectures were very interesting. In the first part we talked about China being the second largest trading partner of Czech Republic and the improvement of Czech-Chinese relations in recent years. In the second part we talked about Chinese soft power, Confucius institute, which propagates Chinese language, Student Scholarship Programs in China that gives to Czechs chance to get to know China from the first hand and pandas of course!
When lecture ended, we held a discussion, in which our students, analysed Czech-Chinese relations as well as the relations of China with other Central European countries and asked questions.
After the discussion it was time to say good-bye. All of our students shook Mr. Wagners’ and Ms. Kocourkovás’ hand, thanked for the lecture and waved. But this was not the end of our tour. Our interest brought us to nearby Starbucks Coffee Shop for further discussion of YAFA members’ ideas and opinions. We discussed serious topics as well as personal and just chilled with a cup of a coffee, agreeing that if we had a chance we would love to visit Czech Embassy again.
After coming back to PKU, it was only our pleasure to conclude that visit of Czech Republic was a big success and we loved it!
Yours YAFA vice-president, Natalia
Students Reflections
Kristof, Hungary
Visiting an Embassy is always a privileged opportunity, not only because you have the chance to get a glimpse of a country’s foreign diplomatic operation, but also because you hear new viewpoints which helps to broaden your perspectives toward China.
The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Beijing welcomed 16 PKU students, and diplomats Mrs. Barbora Kocourková and Mr. Ondřej Wágner held a very interesting lecture about Sino-Czech relations.
Our topics touched on issues such as trade, cultural exchange and a general outlook for future cooperation. We learned that economic ties are especially strong in the automotive and machinery industries, but as the environment in China is changing, they see growing opportunities for collaboration in fields of nanotechnology, aviation services and green energy.
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Prague, where their mutual agreements further strengthened the countries industrial partnership, and we can expect a growing tendency in educational and cultural exchange.
In the end we briefly discussed the role of the Czech Republic as part of greater platforms, such as the EU or the CEEC-CHINA, which serves cooperation between China and 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
China’s OBOR platform also offers some great opportunities, here the major fields for cooperation are the infrastructure, high technologies, and green technologies.
Czech Embassy : Student from the most prestigious university in China had discussion with Czech Diplomats
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