Hungary FM: China–Hungary Summit Produces Worthy Outcome + Video

Hungary's minister of trade and foreign affairs gave a detailed account of Hungarian–Chinese developments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Hungary holds historic significance, and the summit between the two countries produced results that correspond to this, as the two sides signed eighteen key agreements, Hungary's Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto announced in Budapest on Thursday. FM Szijjarto described Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Budapest as historic. He noted that the last time a Chinese President visited Hungary was 20 years ago, adding that this year the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

China's President and Hungary's prime minister conducted very successful negotiations today, which resulted in the signing of eighteen agreements,

– Mr Szijjarto stated.

Within the framework of China's "One Belt, One Road" strategy for the development of East-West connectivity, the two countries have drawn up a list of projects to be jointly implemented, FM Szijjarto explained. He stressed that this list of projects had been extended today, on the basis of which they would start preparations for the construction of a rail ring bypassing Budapest as part of a joint Sino-Hungarian development. "We used to refer to this as V0. The preparation for the construction of this rail ring bypassing Budapest will now commence, in the framework of a joint Sino-Hungarian development," Mr Szijjarto said. This is very much needed, he said, because there is significant Chinese investment in Hungary, mainly in the eastern regions of the country, but the products produced there will be largely marketed in the western half of Europe, so transport needs to be made more efficient and sustainable.

We are starting our preparations for a high-speed rail link to ensure swift and civilized access from the airport to the center of Budapest,

– he said.

In this context, Hungary's foreign minister pointed out that Hungary already boasts direct connections to seven major Chinese cities, with nineteen flights a week. Mr Szijjarto also emphasized that preparations would begin for the development of a charging network for electric cars, because "the future belongs to electric cars, and this is how we can protect our environment". "We have agreed to develop the charging network for electric vehicles in Hungary, in order to ensure that electric cars can be charged as quickly and in as many parts of the country as possible," he said. Besides, we will also commence the construction of Europe's most modern, largest, safest and fastest border crossing point between Hungary and Serbia will be started, Mr Szijjarto highlighted.

"The highway border crossing point at Roszke is extremely congested. Unfortunately, we are all familiar with the images of long lines of trucks or cars. We would like this to stop in the future, so that people and freight traffic do not have to wait for long hours or days," he explained. Mr Szijjarto noted that they, along with their Serbian and Chinese partners, will jointly examine the possibility of building an oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia as swiftly as possible, thus contributing to the security of energy supply for both countries and the entire region.

FM Szijjarto underlined that agricultural exports play a crucial role in bilateral trade, especially given that Hungary has the largest number of Chinese export licences in Central Europe, and that the range of products concerned will be further expanded following today's agreement, for example cherries will be added to the list.

Finally, Mr Szijjarto also mentioned that cooperation would be extended to a new area with the potential of adding a new dimension – namely nuclear energy – to bilateral relations. "We have reached an agreement with China and the Chinese government that we will put together a cooperation program encompassing the entire spectrum of the nuclear industry, so that the cheapest, safest and most efficient way of producing electricity can be properly applied by both countries," he said. In this context, he noted that the demand for electricity will continue to grow steeply around the world in the coming years and that nuclear energy is the best way to meet this demand. "Those countries that will be in a good position, in a safe position, will be those that have significant nuclear capacity," he said.

So, President Xi's visit is historic, and the outcomes it produced today also correspond to this,

– he concluded.

Cover photo: Hungarian Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto (Source: Facebook/Peter Szijjarto)