Czech Prime Minister Says China’s Ambassador Should Be Replaced

Early Indicators Suggest Chinese Economy Cratered in February Following Coronavirus Outbreak

News Analysis After the Federal Reserve cut benchmark interest rates by 50 basis points last week, the focus has shifted to China—and how far will Beijing go to stimulate China’s economy. Beijing has urged businesses to reopen their doors as the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak sidelined business activity during February. But economic activity in China has declined dramatically. Early readings on the state of the economy suggest that China could plunge into contraction, officially, for the first time since the 1970s. Early February Chinese economic indicators are shockingly bad. Chinese exports plunged at the beginning of the year. Total exports in January and February declined by 17.2 percent compared to the same period in 2019, according to latest official data from the General Administration of Customs released March 7. China had…

PRAGUE—China should replace its ambassador in the Czech Republic after the Chinese embassy sent a threatening letter to Czech authorities, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said, a position that may further strain relations between the two countries.

In January, China‘s embassy in Prague said in a letter sent to the Czech president’s office that Beijing would retaliate against Czech companies operating in China if a senior Czech lawmaker went ahead with a planned visit to Taiwan.

The Jan. 10 letter suggested that Czech companies operating in mainland China, such as the Volkswagen subsidiary Skoda Auto and lender Home Credit Group, would suffer if then- Senate speaker Jaroslav Kubera visited the island.

Kubera died before he could make the trip. His successor, Milos Vystrcil, is likely to push for China to replace the ambassador, and Babis would support such a demand, Czech Television reported.

Four top Czech officials, including President Milos Zeman, who has pushed for closer ties with China in recent years, will meet on Mar. 11 for a regular debate on foreign policy, where they are expected to address the matter.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries cooled last year when city authorities in Prague showed support for Tibet and demanded changes to an intercity partnership agreement with Beijing over a reference to China‘s policy on Taiwan.

China quit the agreement and Prague instead entered a partnership with Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has pushed for a “one country, two systems” model, which Taiwan rejects. While Prague authorities have resisted the one-China principle, Babi’s government recognizes it.

In reaction to Prague’s decision to ink a deal with Taipei, China canceled the tours of several Prague classical music ensembles and orchestras.

An earlier dent in bilateral relations came in December 2018 when the Czech cyber-security watchdog warned about the risks of using network technology provided by Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE.

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Amid Virus Outbreak, China Suddenly Cancels Flights and Train Schedules in Major Cities

Two major cities in Guangdong province recently cancelled most of their flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, drawing public speculation that the changes were precautions related to the novel coronavirus outbreak. A large number of passenger train routes in major cities across the country were also cancelled. Airlines stated “public security issues,” but didn’t give details. State-run media quoted Air China staff who said: “could be related to coronavirus outbreak.” In recent days, local media reported several cases of novel coronavirus patients who died in Guangdong province shortly after being confirmed with the virus. According to flight-tracking websites, almost all flights from Shenzhen and Guangzhou to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou were cancelled after 5:15 p.m. local time on March 5. Some of the flights to Tianjin, Nanjing, Shenyang, and other…