At the plenary meeting held in the Alexander Palace, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that the basis of cooperation between the two countries is mutual respect and trust.
The Chinese president also quoted a Hungarian proverb, according to which “a true friend is known in trouble”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is greeted by his Hungarian counterpart, Tamás Sulyok, in Buda Castle, on May 9, 2024, with an official ceremony (Photo: Anadolu/AFP/Árpád Kurucz)
In this regard, Tamás Sulyok recalled the Basic Law of Hungary, which states: “We respect the freedom and culture of other peoples, we strive for cooperation with all the nations of the world.”
Hungary sees East-West cooperation not as a threat, but as an opportunity, which is why Hungary remains ready to form a bridge between East and West, added the Hungarian head of state.
The parties agreed that good political relations and mutual trust provided and provide a strong and solid foundation for the expansion of economic, trade, investment and personal relations. The practical realization of the strengthening of economic relations is the modernization of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line and the fact that direct flights from Budapest will soon be launched to seven major Chinese cities, and Hungary became the initiator of China’s visa-free program.
As a result of the educational relations established between the two countries, 2,481 Chinese students studied in Hungary in the fall semester of 2022/2023, which shows that Hungarian universities are popular among Chinese students. It operates in a Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual Elementary School and High School in Hungary, where, in a unique way in Europe, education takes place in Hungarian and Chinese.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is greeted by his Hungarian counterpart, Tamás Sulyok, in Buda Castle, on May 9, 2024, with an official ceremony
(Photo: Anadolu/AFP/Árpád Kurucz)
There are Confucius Institutes in the five largest Hungarian cities – Budapest, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs, Debrecen.
Hungary has taken important steps in the transition to a green electric car industry, which is given further impetus by the fact that the Chinese BYD, the world’s largest electric car manufacturer, will establish its first European car factory in Szeged. CATL’s HUF 3,000 billion ($8.3 billion) investment in Debrecen is the largest green field investment in Hungary’s history so far.
Xi Jinping thanked for the extremely warm welcome and expressions of sincere friendship. The Chinese head of state wished success to Hungary’s consecutive EU presidency, expressing his hope for the deepening of relations and the promotion of pragmatic cooperation.
At the end of the official visit, the Chinese President invited the Hungarian President to Beijing. Tamás Sulyok accepted the invitation.
