Today, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Hungary to discuss the war in Ukraine and infrastructure projects, reported Reuters and BTA.
After France and Serbia, Hungary is the third leg of Xi Jinping's European tour. This is the first full European tour of the Chinese leader in the last five years.
Xi, who arrived in Budapest last night, is expected to receive a warm welcome in Hungary, which is an important trading partner of China, unlike other European Union countries that want to reduce their economic dependence on Beijing.
Welcome to Hungary, President Xi!🇭🇺🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/FDIXhAxlu7< ;/p>— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) May 8, 2024
The pro-government Hungarian daily "Modyar nemzet" published an article by Xi Jinping yesterday saying that the Chinese leader has developed deep friendships with Hungarian politicians and that Hungary is "the number one destination for Chinese investment in the Central and Eastern Europe region".
One of the topics to be discussed during Xi's visit to Budapest is Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijártó told a briefing earlier this week.
Hungary and China, marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them, are expected to sign between 16 and 18 new agreements, one of which is likely to be a major infrastructure project under China's Belt and Road Initiative , one time".
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been working to bring Hungary closer to China since coming to power in 2010. Warm political relations have turned into investments, notes Reuters.