Chinese prime minister on a visit to Prague

Chinese Prime Minister &to=http://english.pravda.ru/diplomatic/2003/03/18/44554.html' target=_blank>Wen Jiabao began a two-day visit to the Czech Republic on Thursday, meeting with Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and business leaders.

"We negotiated many agreements, which shows that Czech-Chinese relations are good," Wen told a news conference after meeting Paroubek.

A new bilateral treaty on investment protection was signed, as well as a memorandum of understanding between the Czech government and Changhong, China's leading producer of consumer electronics. The company is planning to build a new plant in Nymburk, 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Prague.

Changhong wants to invest some US$10 million (€8.5 million) in the plant, which will employ about 300 people, according to the government-sponsored CzechInvest agency.

Also, Czech privately held financial group PPF signed a joint venture deal with Changhong to offer consumer loans in China, and an agreement between the Czech car manufacturer Skoda Auto and Shanghai Volkswagen has also been signed.