China - Hungary A portal to China

The extraordinary welcome given by the whole of China to the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbàn, at the third international forum of the "Belt and Road" initiative has one explanation: Beijing salutes a Hungary that has been badly treated by Europe and has chosen to collaborate with China to ensure its development. Many CEEC countries are following suit, offering China a solid foothold in Europe. Unaware, we let them maneuver.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's participation in China's "One Belt One Road" summit received exceptional coverage in the Chinese press, reflecting the importance attached to Hungary's participation. As a small country and a modest economic partner of China;
The entire Chinese press, and Global News in particular, gave particular prominence to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn's participation in the third international forum of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the world's largest platform for international cooperation - over 80 countries were represented, and hundreds of agreements covering artificial intelligence, biomedicine, modern agriculture and financial services were signed.

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Hungary in the spotlight

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But how to explain the prominence given to Hungary's modest participation in the Chinese media? Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn was received as a distinguished guest by Xi Jinping, who welcomed him as a "friend of China1 ".

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This may come as a surprise, as there's nothing to distinguish Hungary; it's not a major customer, nor is it one of the countries where China has invested the most.

However, seen from Budapest, China is omnipresent in Hungary. It is its leading economic partner outside Europe and is involved in two major projects for the Hungary of tomorrow.

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• Construction of the 183 km railway line in Serbia and 159 km in Hungary continues, with commissioning recently confirmed for mid-2025. Travel time between the Hungarian and Serbian capitals will be cut from 8 to 3 hours. In 2023, Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. and Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure signed a contract for the supply of five high-speed trains, further consolidating the project. For the first time, Chinese trains will be running in Europe.
• A $7.6 billion investment by Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. will double China's presence in Hungary. On a vast 224-hectare site, an industrial complex will initially supply Hungary's carmakers (Mercedes Benz, BMW and VW). It will also provide a Trojan horse for China's integration into the European automotive industrial complex, as permitted by EU legislation.
  
  

What's more, lasting relations are set to be established between Beijing and Budapest with the signing of an intergovernmental cooperation agreement based on the "Belt and Road" initiative.
More and more Chinese companies are looking to Hungary as a gateway to the European market, and are setting up branches here3 .

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We work together

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Since the signing of the renminbi initiative in Budapest in 2015, financial exchanges between the two countries have continued to grow. Bank of China's Hungarian branch was the first yuan clearing bank in the Central and Eastern European region, and from their Hungarian branches, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and China Development Bank have opened up to Europe4 .

More symbolically, Hungary, the first European country to sign a "BRI cooperation document", declared itself to be China's friend and trusted partner within the EU. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó went so far as to declare: "Chinese investments and the modernization of the Hungarian economy are the results of adherence to the Belt and Road Initiative. The presence of Chinese companies not only helps to keep growth on course, but also to preserve Hungary's leading role in the new global technological revolution."

Taking this logic to its logical conclusion, Budapest makes its case for China to European authorities. On October 15, Péter Szijjártó declared that any move to dissociate itself from China would be an act of "suicide" for Europe. He went on to warn that "reducing ties with Beijing, one of Europe's main trading partners and a major source of foreign direct investment, would kill off the region's economy5 .

He goes even further, arguing against his side, when he declares: "Common sense and rationality are lacking in Europe today. This is a huge problem in Europe, where most countries are not ready or willing to examine the question of cooperation with China in a practical way. They prefer to look at it from an ideological and political point of view. Europeans need to change their way of thinking, otherwise we'll be way behind."

For China, Xi Jinping sets the tone: "The two countries should intensify their relations, forge ever closer ties, at a time when European states are seeking to 'disengage' from China." And he hopes that the two countries will make a success of the Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone. More insistent still, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, addressing his counterpart Péter Szijjártó, asked that Hungary continue to push the European Union to adopt a more proactive and open policy on cooperation with China6 .

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A China rooted in Eastern Europe

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Orbàn does not intend to reduce the area of cooperation to Hungary alone. In his interview with Xi Jinping, he declared: "Hungary will continue to actively promote cooperation between the CEEC and China. He is supported by Croatian Mario Rendulic, president of the Chinese Southeast European Business Association, who told the Global Times that the forum offers opportunities to establish new ties."

Xi Jinping makes no secret of the fact that cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is in line with their common interests. And Beijing is ready to work to continue to steer cooperation with the CEECs in the right direction, and to enrich it so as to consolidate the stable and lasting development of relations between China and the European Union.

It's in this part of Europe, insufficiently considered by the European Union, that China is setting up shop to bounce back. Unaware of this, we are letting it maneuver and prosper.

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• Xi Jinping meets Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Fmprc.cov.cn, 10/17/2023
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• CRRC to export high-speed train system to help build Hungary-Serbia Railway, Global Times, 127/10/2023
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• BRI synergizes 'Opening to East' of Hungary, Global Times, 13/10/2023
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• China and Hungary forge strong partnership in BRI construction, with more win-win cooperation Anticipated, Global Times, 12/09/2023
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• China decoupling would be an act of 'suicide' for Europe, Hungary's foreign minister says, CNBC, 13/06/2023
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• Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi calls on Hungary to promote EU's more proactive, open policy towards China, Global Times, 28/09/2023

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