Czech President-elect Petr Pavel and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen have spoken over the phone and agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation. It's quite rare for the leader of a nation that has diplomatic ties with China to have a phone call with the Taiwanese leader.

Taiwan's presidential office said the call took place on Monday.

Tsai congratulated Pavel on his victory in the presidential election, which was held this month, as incumbent president Milos Zeman's term is due to expire soon.

Tsai told Pavel that Taiwan is ready to work more closely with the Czech Republic in a range of fields, such as designing semiconductor chips, training engineers and restructuring supply chains.

Pavel later tweeted, "I assured her that Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights. We agreed on strengthening our partnership."

The Czech Republic does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. But it is among the European nations seeking better ties with Taiwan, which has an edge in semiconductors and other advanced technologies.

Experts say these moves reflect concerns over Chinese human rights issues, as well as disappointment about lower-than-expected benefits from their investment ties with Beijing.