The decoupling of Chinese language and native pursuits, in accordance with Mr. Hala, the Prague-based China scholar, started with the belief that Chinese language funding was “not simply free cash falling from the sky.”

Within the Czech Republic, this grew to become clear in 2018, when CEFC China Power, which had spent greater than $1 billion on offers within the nation, started to implode after the arrest in China of its boss, Ye Jianming, a particular financial adviser to Mr. Zeman.

Beijing’s fortunes suffered an extra setback in 2021, when Petr Kellner, a Czech tycoon with in depth enterprise pursuits in China, was killed in a helicopter accident. His firm, PPF, has since introduced that it needs to promote its flagship China enterprise, a monetary establishment known as House Credit score, and make Europe its “middle of gravity.”

The stalled actual property and spa challenge in South Moravia, based mostly in Pasohlavky, a village of round 700 folks close to the border with Austria, was a part of the increase that went bust.

It first took form after the signing of a 2016 “framework” settlement between South Moravia and the Chinese language Growth Financial institution, a state lender tasked with bankrolling infrastructure and different initiatives linked to China’s Belt and Street initiative.

Mr. Hasek, then the area’s governor, promised that the settlement would herald Chinese language firms prepared to speculate lots of of tens of millions of {dollars}. That, stated South Moravia’s present governor, Jan Grolich, by no means occurred: “He promised a number of Chinese language cash, however actuality has been completely completely different.”

Right now, Mr. Grolich famous, the one Chinese language funding challenge within the area is the stalled RiseSun enterprise in Pasohlavky. “There may be nothing else,” he stated.