Dear Chinese and Czech trade fair guests: Allow me to welcome you on behalf of the Czech healthcare sector and the Czech healthcare export, which are no longer unknown in China. The cooperation between Czech and Chinese healthcare is not merely excellent but in many regards also strategic. Thanks to this fact, partnerships have been formed between Czech university hospitals and elite Chinese institutions, such as the Beijing Children’s Hospital, Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, the “Drum Tower” Hospital in Nanjing, or the Xiangya Hospital in the province of Hunan. Our ministry and its institutions also actively cooperate with the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and health authorities in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Hunan, in the sphere of clinical medicine, as well as in science and public healthcare. The two ministries also cooperate in organising exchanges of physicians, internships for students, and exchange experience in healthcare management. It has to be highlighted that the Czech healthcare sector has more to off er than just top-level physicians – it is also famous for its traditional and world-renowned products, such as hospital beds, surgical instruments, medications, or medical devices. In recent years, they have been joined by new top-level companies that are capable of surviving amidst fi erce international competition, on fi elds such as neoplastic medication research or diagnostics. I am very proud of the eff ort of all our exporters, as they help to build a good reputation of the Czech Republic. I consider them to be excellent promoters of our country and I believe that their high quality services and products will fi nd their place on the Chinese market, too. Besides medical products, several Czech regions can boast prestigious “medical” jewels – spas. The unique combination of medical science, mineral waters, thermal springs and other natural resources, such as peat, has been used in the Czech lands for more than 300 years and has been admired by patients from all over the world. Spa towns such as Carlsbad, Jáchymov, Luhačovice, Teplice, and Darkov are not only medical, but literally cultural phenomena. All these spa towns, and dozens of others, are able to organise medical programmes for all types of patients: they off er also pre- and post-surgical stays or stays for entire families. Naturally, we do not stay behind the global healthy lifestyles trend, and we off er a wide array of wellness and relaxation stays. For this reason, I think it is excellent that 200 Chinese children with respiratory diseases will come to be treated in the Czech Republic in the upcoming months. I believe that they will enjoy their stay at our Karlova Studánka Mountain Spa resort and that they will be just the fi rst of many Chinese tourists and patients to discover the wonders of Czech spa treatments. To conclude, allow me to briefl y mention a major forthcoming event– I am proud that the City of Prague will have the occasion to host the unique Forum of ministers of Health of sixteen Central and East European countries and the People’s Republic of China this June. It will be our great honour to welcome Chinese government representatives and representatives of provinces and Chinese entrepreneurs, and to actively create new friendships and deepen existing ones. I believe that many Chinese corporations that are interested in Czech products and in fi nding Czech partners for their products and projects will attend our Forum.