China and the Czech Republic have agreed to increase cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), particularly in areas such as transportation, energy, e-commerce and artificial intelligence (AI). 

Chinese President Xi Jinping made the remarks during a meeting with his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Monday. 

Chinese-Czech relations have shown a comprehensive development momentum and are facing broad prospects under the framework of the BRI and the background of close cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, Xi said. 

The two countries should deepen mutual trust as well as continuously consolidate and safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations, said the Chinese president, hailing the strategic partnership signed during his state visit to the Czech Republic in 2016. 

Zeman said the Czech Republic welcomes Chinese enterprises' investment and is willing to further strengthen dialogue and coordination between the two governments. 

The Czech Republic will positively take part in the joint building of the BRI, Zeman added, stressing Czech firmly opposes unilateralism and protectionism.