President Xi Jinping's visit to the Czech Republic is of both "strategic and pragmatic" significance as it it is designed to lift political trust to a new level and seek synergies to meet each other's agenda and economic priorities, according to China's Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Ma Keqing.

"Based on my understanding of the status quo of the bilateral relationship and the detailed arrangements of this visit by President Xi, it will be a trail-blazing event for both sides," said Ma during an exclusive interview with China Daily before Xi's departure.

The Czech Republic is the only country that Xi will visit before he attends the World Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. Czech President Milos Zeman visited China last September, and Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka visited last November.

Ma said that during the recent two years, the bilateral relationship has been developing at an "accelerating pace" with more frequent high-level dialogue, unprecedented active trade and investment activity and growing people-to-people exchanges. "Our relations are in the best era ever," she said during the interview at the Chinese embassy in Prague.

Ma said Xi's visit is the first one by a Chinese president since the two sides established diplomatic ties, and his first trip to Central and Eastern Europe since he was elected president in 2013.

It is his first visit to Europe this year; he visited Western Europe in 2014 and 2015.

"So this visit has attracted a lot of attention from the Czech Republic and the rest of Europe," said Ma.

"It will become a landmark visit to boost the relationship with Central and East European countries and a kickoff visit to deepen Sino-EU relations this year."

Ma also said the visit aims to boost pragmatic cooperation between the two countries by jointly seeking synergies of each other's mega-projects by implementing China's Belt and Road Initiative.

"The Czechs have responded actively to echo with President Xi's Belt and Road Initiative to boost connectivity and treated it as a chance to take on China's train of development and further stimulate its economy," said Ma.

Last November, when Prime Minister Sobotka visited Beijing, both sides signed an agreement on cooperation over the Belt and Road Initiative. And it is expected that both sides will sign a document on an action plan to further deepen cooperation in this regard during Xi's visit.

Following Pakistan, Indonesia, Russia, UK, France, Hungary, Poland and other countries, the Czech Republic is expected to become one of the new forerunners to join China's Belt and Road Initiative, which President Xi proposed more than three years ago. Official figures have shown that more than 70 countries have agreed to join this initiative, and more than 30 countries have signed cooperation documents.

"The Czech Republic is a European power in terms of manufacturing and industry and there is great potential for both sides to work together to improve connectivity," said Ma.

Ma said the Czech Republic has also proposed making Prague China's financial center in Central and Eastern Europe, which, Ambassador Ma says, is welcomed by the Chinese side.

Ma said China is willing to deepen financial cooperation, using each other's currencies for trade and investment, and discuss the feasibility of setting up a renminbi settlement mechanism in Prague.

"It is necessary to set up such a settlement mechanism as the trade and investment activities between China and the countries in Central and East Europe are rapidly growing," said Ma.

Ma said she is very confident that both sides could deliver on deeper cooperation in different areas because strong political will, vision and courage have worked as foundations.

"At the same time, the people of both sides have already boosted mutual understanding, and the recent poll in the Czech Republic has shown that more than 70 percent of Czechs support further development of bilateral relationship," said Ma. "Czechs in all walks of life and myself have been full of expectations towards Xi's visit."

Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn