Czech-Chinese Strategic Partnership Amid the Second Cold War 
Ladislav Zemánek – Charles University, Prague
Abstract
The study inquires into Czech-Chinese relations from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. The analysis is conducted against the background of the ongoing process of transformation of the international order towards a multipolar/polycentric model, the collapse of neoliberal globalisation and the concurrent emergence of regions-based globalisation (glocalisation), and last but not least the transition of liberal democracies to liberal authoritarianism for which a concept of postliberalism is used in this article. China and Russia are identified as the main engines of the advancement of post-Western international order while the pandemic and the most recent phase of the conflict in the Ukraine are considered to be game-changers and catalysts of the rise of a new era in international relations. The article summarises the main points and tendencies of the development of Czech-Chinese relations in the 21st century and addresses the fundamental issues that are present in the Czech political discourse, i.e. Taiwan, China-CEEC cooperation mechanism (14+1), Indo-Pacific, Xinjiang and Tibet. Attention is paid to the actors involved in the agenda-setting and also to the current socioeconomic conditions that can significantly affect the future of the Czech Republic’s policy towards China.
Keywords
China, the Czech Republic, Russia, Taiwan, Central and Eastern Europe, hegemonism, liberal authoritarianism, strategic partnership, polycentrism, postliberalism.