Xi tells Slovakia's Fico to help promote China-EU ties

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday praised Slovakia for "adherence" to its friendship with China, telling its prime minister that he hoped Bratislava would continue to aid Beijing in building its relations with the broader European Union.

The international community needs unity and cooperation more than ever, Xi told Prime Minister Robert Fico, who attended a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday that showed off China's military might and diplomatic clout.

China is counting on some EU states such as Slovakia to speak up for Beijing within the European Union, which had imposed steep tariffs on China-made electric vehicles on allegations of unfair competition. Slovakia was one of five EU states that opposed the duties.

Xi said he hoped Slovakia would continue to play a "positive" role in promoting China-EU relations, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Fico, who last met with Xi in Moscow in May, has been eager to push his country's relations with China into a "fast lane".

Along with Hungary, another EU member, populist-led Slovakia is seeking to attract job-creating industrial investment from Chinese firms selling into Europe.

But, unlike Budapest, Bratislava has been slow in reaping gains from the world's second-biggest economy, only managing to elevate relations to a strategic partnership just last year.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, who had represented Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Beijing military parade, told China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday that around 31% of Chinese investments in Europe came to Hungary in 2024.

Like Hungary, Slovakia maintains close ties with Russia, which supplies the majority of Slovakia's oil needs.

Fico will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, after telling Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that he wants to normalise relations with the Kremlin, even as the EU is seeking to wean itself off Russian energy imports to punish Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Joe Cash; Editing by Kim Coghill and Lincoln Feast.)