Fico: Government Will Respect One China Policy

Bratislava, December 11 (TASR) - The government will adhere to and respect the One China Policy, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) wrote on Facebook after meeting Chinese Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Deng Li on Monday. According to Fico, the meeting was a preparation for his visit to China next spring. "China deserves respect because it has achieved unprecedented economic results and is a stabilising element in global security," said Fico, adding that he's always respected the right of each country to follow its own way. "I don't intend to dispense any wisdom and lessons from the position of a small country full of violations of basic human rights and defects of democracy," he added. Fico added that he and China share the same opinion on the impossibility of resolving the conflict in Ukraine militarily. At the same time, they support meaningful peace plans. The premier pointed out that Slovak companies are practically absent on the Chinese market, as 90 percent of exports are cars and electronics generated by multinational companies operating in Slovakia. He therefore wants to pay special attention to exports of Slovak agricultural products and joint Slovak-Chinese companies. zel/df