Hungary Signs 19 Deals with China, and Expands Cooperation into Nuclear Industry

Hungary and China have signed a series of new agreements to deepen their economic and cultural cooperation ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the Central European country.

As part of the Chinese leader's last stop on his five-day European tour, Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held talks in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Before that, Xi Jinping also visited Serbia and France. 

Hungarian and Chinese officials concluded a "strategic partnership" agreement and signed 18 other agreements and memoranda of understanding.

During a press briefing after the talks, Orban praised the "uninterrupted friendship" between the two countries since he took office in 2010 and pledged that Hungary would continue to welcome Chinese investment.

Hungarian-Chinese cooperation will be extended to the entire nuclear industry, which has not been done before. By the beginning of the next decade, the share of nuclear power in Hungary will be between 60% and 70%, the Hungarian Prime Minister added.

Orban also said that the friendship between Hungary and China has never been broken, adding that Hungary adheres to the One China principle, meaning that, in the opinion of the Hungarian government, Taiwan is an integral part of China.

The Hungarian prime minister then turned to the war in Ukraine and said that Hungary supports the peace plan initiated by China. The solution to the war requires a negotiating table, not weapons, Orban said.

The value of Hungarian-Chinese trade has quadrupled in twenty years, seven Chinese cities can be reached by plane directly from Budapest, and relations have strengthened to a strategic partnership. Both sides mutually contribute to the development of each other's economies.

At the end of last week, the Chinese leader began his several-day tour of European countries for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The first country of his visit was France. Then he paid a state visit to Serbia, and now, finally, he has arrived in Hungary, whose relations with China Xi Jinping called a good example for Europe.