Czech leader calls Taiwan trip a boyish stunt to defuse row

Czech President Milos Zeman is seeking to defuse a row with Beijing over a visit by the speaker of his country's senate to Taiwan, calling the trip a "boyish provocation."

Milos Vystrcil grabbed headlines last week when he told Taiwan's assembly "I am a Taiwanese" in a speech that echoed the late US president John F Kennedy's famous defiance of communism in Berlin in 1963.

Vystrcil's trip did not have the backing of the Czech government and angered Beijing, which said the speaker would "pay a heavy price" for visiting the democratic island it sees as its own.

That prompted Prague to summon Beijing's ambassador to demand an explanation about what that meant.

Zeman has sought closer ties with Beijing since taking office in 2013, but his efforts have been hit by failed investment plans and have divided politicians.

He also said on a televised debate that he would stop inviting Vystrcil to meetings of foreign policy officials.

And while Zeman said the trip could be damaging for Czech firms he thought the "heavy price" comment went too far.

"I consider it a boyish provocation," he said of Vystrcil's trip.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said later in the debate that he would fight to prevent fallout for Czech companies.

The Czech Republic, like most countries, has no formal ties with Taiwan. But Taiwan is a large investor in the country.

Many Czech firms are linked to the mainland.

Richest Czech Petr Kellner's firm Home Credit is a major consumer lender in China. And the country is the largest single market for Skoda Auto, the Czech car unit of Volkswagen.