A man casts his vote during the second round of presidential election at a polling station in Prague, the Czech Republic, Jan. 27, 2023. Voters in the Czech Republic began to cast their ballots on Friday afternoon in the second round of this year's presidential election. The first round was held on Jan. 13-14. Photo: Xinhua

 
Czech president-elect Petr Pavel will reportedly have a call with Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen, yet Chinese experts on international relations warned that no matter what the president talks about with Tsai, such a phone call will have a negative impact on China-Czech relations and the balance of the Czech Republic's foreign policy is likely to be disturbed.

Pavel defeated rival Andrej Babiš on Saturday and is set to become the fourth president of the Czech Republic. The newly elected leader will replace outgoing president Miloš Zeman on March 8. Before his planned talk with Tsai, he spoke with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.

As AFP reported: "A phone call (with Tsai) is scheduled for Monday," Pavel's spokeswoman Marketa Rehakova announced.

Observers said that the incoming president's China policy appears to have changed, and it may pose challenges and risks for him as the Taiwan question is an untouchable red line for China.

The two sides may mainly talk about cultural and economic exchanges. But even that would be an affront to the one-China principle, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Monday. 

In a previous interview with Czech Radio, Pavel stated that he would support the relationship between the Czech Republic and the island of Taiwan.

After being elected, Pavel was apparently eager to have a direct phone conversation with Tsai. Everything the president says and does represents the Czech Republic, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times. 

Some Western leaders think they can manage to play the "Taiwan card" when they first come to power, but the consequences would be severe and profound lessons will be learned, experts warned.

Cui said the Taiwan question could become a negative factor in China-Czech relations. The development of China-Czech relations has been influenced by external factors in recent years, including moves by the US and the European Union. 

There was previously a balance in the Czech government's China policy. However, with the change of its internal affairs, this policy balance is likely to be broken. "Then there will be a more unbalanced state in the short term, and forces that are keen to hype up the Taiwan question will be less constrained," Cui warned.

Pavel is a retired general who served as the head of NATO's military committee from 2015 to 2018. His background will influence some of his subsequent policies or actions, and he "may align more with the US' China strategy," Li said.

Pavel has not taken office yet. If he continues to hype up the Taiwan question after taking office, China-Czech relations will definitely be severely impacted, affecting trade and people-to-people exchanges, experts said.