Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday said the European Union's (EU) current foreign policy lacked autonomy and called on the bloc to seize the opportunity to develop practical economic and trade cooperation with China and Russia. 

Orban, who is on an official Czech visit, made the remarks when asked how he views the future role of the EU as well as the role of China and Russia in global affairs. 

The Hungarian prime minister said elites in Brussel are "blinded by ideology" and that policies toward China and Russia run counter to the EU's interests. 

Orban said even though close economic cooperation with Russia and China is in the EU's interest, the bloc still closed the door to cooperation, preferring to show strength where it is weak. The "EU is doing things that go against its own interests," he said. 

He also said that the EU should not dance with the U.S. but should instead have an independent and autonomous foreign trade policy, adding that the EU cannot afford to lose the Eastern market.  

Orban said he believes that the U.S. regards China as its biggest competitor, and Europe cannot miss the huge economic opportunities in front of it.  

Europe needs strategic sovereignty, its own army and an independent trade policy to pursue its own interests, he added.