China established diplomatic relations with the former Czechoslovakia on October 6, 1949. China immediately recognized the Slovak Republic when it achieved independence on January 1, 1993, and established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level with it. The two sides agreed that the treaties and agreements signed between China and the former Czechoslovakia would remain in force for Slovakia and that October 6, 1949, would be kept as the date for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In recent years, China and Slovakia have had close high-level exchanges. In April 2019, Premier Li Keqiang held a bilateral meeting in Dubrovnik with Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini of Slovakia on the sidelines of the Summit between China and Central and Eastern European Countries. In July 2019, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Slovakia.

In April 2023, the Speaker of the Slovak National Council Boris Kollár visited China. Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji held talks with him, and Vice President Han Zheng met with him. In November 2024, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico in Beijing, who paid an official visit to China. Besides, Premier Li Qiang held talks with him and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji met with him. During this visit, China and Slovakia issued a joint statement on the establishment of a strategic partnership.

In 1994, China and Slovakia established the Joint Intergovern-mental Commission for Economic Cooperation. In recent years,economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has achieved steady progress. Slovakia has become China's fourth largest trading partner and largest source of imports in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume amounted to US$9.7 billion with a year-on-year decline of 15.7%.

China and Slovakia have close contacts and cooperation in various fields, such as education, science and technology, culture and tourism. The two sides have established the committee on intergovernmental cooperation in science and technology, and signed plans for cultural and education cooperation as well as memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation. There are three Confucius Institutes in Slovakia. The two sides have so far formed 4 pairs of sister provinces, states and sister cities.