Hungary, China sign interstate deal to keep Chinese university in Budapest

Hungary and China on Monday signed an interstate agreement to ensure the continued operations of the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine in Budapest under Hungary’s amended higher education law.

Speaking at a press conference after the signing ceremony, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said cooperation between Hungary and China was “better than ever” with education being one of the most important pillars of the two countries’ relations.

The minister noted that the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine was the second higher education institution whose future in Hungary had been secured under the new higher education law

after McDaniel College of the US State of Maryland. This proves that the criteria laid down in the higher education law can be met, he said.

Szijjártó said there were a total of five universities in Hungary whose home countries needed to sign interstate agreements with Hungary in order to secure their continued operations in the country.

Hungary tightened rules governing the operations of foreign universities in the country in the spring, requiring foreign colleges and universities in Hungary to operate on the basis of an interstate agreement and run a campus in the country in which they are based.

The minister called the agreement a milestone in Hungarian-Chinese educational cooperation.