China, Hungary elevate ties and pledge closer cooperation

China and Hungary on Thursday announced that they have elevated bilateral relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era during talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Xi said China firmly supports Hungary in taking the path of development in line with its national conditions, and is willing to build political mutual trust with Hungary, strengthen exchanges between the two governments, legislative bodies and political parties, and continue to firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns.

China is willing to jointly forge greater synergy in development strategies with Hungary, promote cooperation in infrastructure and green energy, complete the construction of the Hungary-Serbia Railway on schedule and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as clean energy and artificial intelligence, he said.

Xi said both sides should continue to support the teaching of their respective languages and strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

China regards Europe as an important partner in achieving Chinese modernization, he said, expressing hope that the Hungarian side, which will take the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second half of this year, will play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.

Orban said that Hungary hopes to continue to work with China to promote cooperation on large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Hungary-Serbia Railway within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade and new energy, and welcome more Chinese enterprises to invest in Hungary and cooperate with local companies.

The Hungarian side does not identify with the rhetoric of "overcapacity" or "de-risking," he said, adding that Hungary's determination to deepen cooperation with China is unwavering and will not be disturbed by any force.

Hungary supports the series of global initiatives put forward by Xi and appreciates the important role China has played in promoting world peace, he said.

"China's development is an opportunity, not a risk, for Europe. Hungary is willing to strengthen multilateral communication and collaboration with China to jointly maintain world peace and stability," he said.

Hungary is willing to promote the healthy development of EU-China relations and cooperation between Central and Eastern European countries and China, he added.

The two leaders also had an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine crisis. Xi emphasized that China has always been committed to promoting peace talks, and is willing to continue to work with all parties concerned to make positive efforts for the early realization of peace.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of a number of bilateral cooperation documents concerning Belt and Road cooperation, economy and trade, investment, science and technology, culture and agriculture.