Hungary to Assume Important Role in 2024

Currently, the United States and the European Union are striving for closer ties with China only at the level of communication, and there is no real action behind the rhetoric. And Beijing knows this, Levente Horvath pointed out. Magyar Nemzet asked the director of the Eurasia Center and Hungary's former consul general in Shanghai how Western-Chinese relations have developed this year and what the prospects are for 2024.

This Western perception is likely the reason for reports of the BRI's successes over the past ten years, while there is no news at all about its Western rivals.

In the past decade, more than a hundred countries around the world have joined the BRI, with Beijing investing nearly $70 billion in 2022 alone.

It was always apparent that Western projects serve the short-term interests of the West, and that they also push a kind of export of democracy, which may not be universally accepted, the expert said. In contrast, China is willing to invest in projects that do not necessarily serve solely its own interests. In any case, Beijing makes it clear that it does not wish to impose its own political system on the states involved in the projects and does not interfere in their internal affairs.

Third Belt and Road Forum participants. Photo: AFP/Sergei Savostyanov

End of a five hundred-year era

Much of what we are currently seeing from the West, especially from the United States, in its policy towards China, is primarily attributable to a transition in the world order with the transatlantic influence declining worldwide, according to Levente Horvath.

The five hundred years of Western hegemony are coming to an end, which is why they are trying to do everything they can to if not prevent, at least slow the transformation of world order,

the Eurasia Center director stressed. The strategy includes the demonization of various big powers as well as the deliberate obstruction of their development. Instead of perceiving the situation as a rivalry, the West should develop a peaceful cooperation based on its own interests along side the mutual benefits," the expert said, adding that such a partnership would enable the world to develop at an even faster and more dynamic pace.

Whether this directional change on the part of the West will happen remains to be seen. What is certain is that 2024 will be a key year in this respect. In Europe, there will be EU elections next year, while across the Atlantic, there will be presidential elections, both of which are likely to be contested by candidates who promote national interests and pragmatic cooperation - although this does not necessarily mean a potential 'warming up' of Sino-US relations . 

But there is another important factor to be reckoned with in 2024 that could sway the relationship between Europe and China: Hungary holds the the rotating presidency of the EU next year.

Hungary began diversifying its international relations in 2010, with its opening up to the East and pursuing a real-politik policy towards China, that seeks cooperation rather than competition, the expert pointed out. The question, he continued, is to what extent and how effectively Hungary can implement these ideas during its six-month presidency. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping after their bilateral meeting on October 17, 2023 in Beijing. Source: Facebook

Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) is received by Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) in Beijing on October 17, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)