BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that he was a “friend” to China, and that both nations should elevate relations, in a sign of ever-closer ties even as European states look towards “de-risking” from China.
Under the government of Orban since 2010, Hungary has increasingly drawn closer to the orbit of China, an important partner in trade and investment. That contrasts with other EU nations that are considering diversifying from China and becoming less dependent on the world’s second-largest economy.
In one of the most prominent projects under Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, China offered most of the financing needed to build a railway link between Budapest and Belgrade, a huge undertaking that has been criticised for its cost and lack of transparency.
“We consider you as a friend,” Xi told Orban. “You have actively supported jointly building the Belt and Road, and made contributions to promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road cooperation.”
Orban was visiting Beijing to attend a key forum on the Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious plan launched by Xi a decade ago in the hopes of building global infrastructure and energy networks connecting Asia with Africa and Europe.
In a clear sign of Hungary’s support for China, it had blocked EU statements criticising Beijing’s security law in Hong Kong, which supporters say is need to maintain order after mass anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019.
Many Western governments said the law breaks a promise to maintain a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong since its 1997 return to Chinese rule.
In recent years, regardless of the changing international situation, Sino-Hungarian relations have maintained high-level development, Chinese state media reported Xi as telling Orban.
China is willing to take its comprehensive strategic partnership with Hungary to new levels, Xi said.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
