At the end of last year, we analyzed Hungarian-Chinese relations with the help of the director of the Eurasian Center.
China is an important economic partner for Hungary because it has the second largest economy in the world, a market worth 1.4 billion, and advanced technology. In order for Hungarian companies to be able to take advantage of this, they must develop a good China strategy. Hungary is important to China because it is an EU member state, has a good geographical location and a stable political and economic environment. China is building economic cooperation in the world, but this requires a stable political environment. In a constantly changing political environment, negotiations with new governments must always be started from scratch, this is not beneficial for long-term plans and cooperation
Levente Horváth explained last December.
“This is the interest of the country”
He also spoke about the fact that Hungary is following its own foreign policy path, responded in time to the transformation of the world order with the policy of opening up to the East, and since then has been maintaining ever closer relations with China and other Asian countries.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched the policy of opening to the east with the slogan “we sail under the western flag, but in the world economy the wind blows from the east”. But this does not mean that one should only cooperate with the East instead of the West. It is necessary to diversify relations and cooperate with the East as well as the West. This is the interest of the country
– said the director of the Eurasia Center.
He reminded him: 2024 is the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and China, and this may give the opportunity for the Chinese head of state to visit Budapest.
At the end of February, we wrote about the fact that the visit of Wang Xiaohong, State Councilor and Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China to Budapest indicated that President Xi Jinping might come to Budapest.
On February 16, the Minister of Government Information Gergely Gulyás Gulyás, in response to Index’s question, stated: the government is happy that the Chinese president is coming, and they trust that Wang Xiaohong’s trip was also a preparation for this.
Although there was no confirmation from the government, we also wrote that this year the Chinese president will visit Serbia, which is very close to Hungary. At the reception held in Belgrade on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed that Chinese President Xi Jinping is coming to Serbia. At the beginning of April, Szabad Európa wrote about the fact that, according to their information, the Chinese president will come to Hungary in early May, after France and Serbia.
Hungarian-Chinese friendship can continue to strengthen
Gergely Gulyás finally announced on Thursday’s Government Information that Xi Jinping is indeed coming to Budapest. The minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office emphasized that it is in the interest of the Hungarian economy and Hungary to maintain good relations with as many people as possible. China is one of the world’s leading powers and is already stronger than the European Union. He added: it is not worth setting up ideological barriers, the government is happy about the visit, preparations for the visit are underway.
When asked by a journalist, the minister revealed that it will primarily be about economic cooperation, in this sense it will serve to strengthen Hungarian-Chinese economic relations. Specific cases and projects will be on the agenda.
After the announcement, Levente Horváth, director of the Eurássia Center, told Index:
There is a close relationship and mutual understanding between Hungary and China, as the governments of the two countries think alike about the development of the world order and international relations. They support connectivity, oppose war, and urge peaceful negotiations. In addition, Hungary’s stable political and economic environment is favorable for the deepening of relations between the two countries.
Levente Horváth also spoke about how the visit of the Chinese head of state is definitely of great importance in Hungarian-Chinese relations, as Xi Jinping has not yet visited us during his presidency. In 2009, he was already in Hungary as vice-president, and in 2016 he visited Poland, the Czech Republic and Serbia as president of the region.
This year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Hungarian-Chinese relations, in the framework of which Xi Jinping’s visit can further strengthen the Hungarian-Chinese friendship, which has been growing ever closer since the announcement of the opening to the East. In recent years, China has repeatedly been the largest investor in Hungary, creating more than 20,000 jobs. Hungarian-Chinese trade has tripled since 2012 as part of the opening to the East. China is Hungary’s largest partner outside the European Union
– pointed out the director of the Eurasia Center.
He also highlighted that several large investment projects have been announced in recent years, and the press has been able to report on new collaborations in recent weeks as well; Minister Mihály Varga and then Péter Szijjártó also visited China, and they agreed on new investments and new direct flights between the two countries.
According to Levente Horváth, all countries are currently happy to cooperate with China despite the international political pressure, as examples he mentioned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to China and Emmanuel Macron’s visit last year, in response to which the Chinese head of state is now coming to France for a return visit.
We recently conducted an interview with the director of the Eurasian Center about China and Sino-Hungarian relations in the Index Talkative in his show. A few days ago, we also published an article about how China became Hungary’s most important economic partner outside the EU.
(Cover photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (l) receives Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Beijing on April 25, 2019. Photo: Prime Minister’s Press Office / Balázs Szecsődi / MTI)
